Our Legacy 2 - Episode Tags
by Little Miss Flo
Summary: Episode tags following the events of my story 'Our Legacy', in which Sam and Jack travel forward in time to the year 2034, and have an adventure before being sent home. This is a look at how that story changes the ongoing timeline. Read 'Our Legacy' first, or this one won't make any sense.
1. Entity

**Post 'Our Legacy' Episode Tags**

 **Summary:** A series of episode tags following the events of my story 'Our Legacy', in which Sam and Jack travel forward in time to the year 2034, and have an adventure before being sent home. Read that story first, or this won't make sense. Basically what I will be doing is changing or adding to episodes, to show how they were affected or changed by Sam and Jack's time travelling adventure.  
 **Disclaimer:** I do not own these characters nor profit from their use - I merely toy with them for my own amusement.

* * *

 **Season 4 Episode 20 - Entity  
** _Episode summary: An alien entity takes over Sam's body. After hostile negotiations with Jack, it runs from the infirmary and appears to attempt to transplant itself into the base mainframe. Jack shoots Sam once with a zat, with no effect. He shoots again. Sam's body is kept alive by life-support machines, but she is declared braindead. However, the entity had transplanted Sam's mind into the base mainframe, and she manages to communicate to Daniel that she is there. They successfully transfer her back into her own body._

* * *

It was all Jack could do to keep his face blank, and prevent the violent maelstrom of emotions swirling in him from spilling out on his expression. Instead he stood with Daniel and Teal'c and watched as the Janet Fraiser and her nurses flitted around Sam like flies, hooking her up to heart monitors and IVs. His fists clenched against his sides, fingernails digging into his palms, checking his impulse to swat the nurses out of the way and go to her.

Dr Fraiser had explained that Carter's body had been through an incredible stress and there was a real concern that she would have another cardiac episode. Hearts weren't designed to receive so many violent electrical shocks in such a short space of time. She looked so fragile, pale and weak.

At least she was alive.

He thought he'd killed her. He thought he'd killed his future, his _kids_. He shot her twice with a zat. He had hesitated with his finger on the trigger, and he wondered retrospectively if he would have had the strength to make the same decision and shoot to kill, if he hadn't known – or thought he'd known – from their recent escapade in the year 2034 that she would live to see old age no matter what. That question had plagued him as he had sat at her bedside while she'd lain brain-dead on life support. How could she be gone? Didn't they have an ironclad guarantee that she'd make it?

Well, she had made it, against the odds. He sent a silent prayer of thanks to any god that cared, that Daniel had kept his head and noticed Sam's message before he'd pulled the plug on his future and ruined the timeline irrevocably.

An eternity later, Doc Fraiser finished whatever she was doing, shooed away the nurses, and beckoned the three of them over to Sam's bedside. Jack took the position closest to Sam, stopping just short of touching her. He looked at her, and she blinked back at him with a faint smile on her tired, pale face.

He tore his gaze away and looked to Fraiser. "Doc?" He prompted.

"We'll keep Major Carter under close observation for the next day or two, and see how things go. Now that she's free of the alien entity however, I am hopeful that she'll make a full recovery."

He swallowed his intense sigh of relief. "Good. That's good."

He drummed his fingers on the bed beside Sam's hand.

"How are you feeling?" Daniel asked her.

"Tired. Sore." Sam said, her voice hoarse. "But alive, so there's that."

"We are extremely relieved that you survived." Teal'c said, his voice low and heartfelt. "We feared the worst."

Sam smiled at the big guy. Jack's drumming fingers clenched into a fist.

"I'm going to have to kick you out now, sir. My patient needs some peace and quiet to rest." Janet said, directing her statement to Jack as the team leader.

"We'll let you rest, then." Daniel said to Sam. "We'll pop by again a bit later."

Daniel nudged his shoulder when Jack didn't move.

"In a minute." He said. He looked to Fraiser for permission.

" _Only_ a minute, Colonel. I'll be back to check." Janet said, and she, Daniel and Teal'c left the two of them alone.

Jack looked at Sam, and she looked back at him. "That was a close one." He said softly.

"We knew it would work out though, right?" She whispered back.

Jack looked at her in silence for a moment. "I had to shoot you. Twice, with a zat. And then you were brain dead, and you have that _damn_ living will …"

Sam winced. "Sorry about that. I did it before …" She trailed off.

"Yeah, I know." He blew out a harsh breath, releasing some tension. "How sure are we that the future is set in stone? Could I have actually killed you and ruined the timeline?"

Sam closed her eyes, looking exhausted. "Theoretically, yes. We're not invulnerable. If we both put guns to our heads, we could force a change in the future as we saw it. But barring any extraordinary measures, as long as we do our best to act in the way we would have done before our trip to 2034, we should be fine."

Jack shifted uneasily. "That's the thing, though. I think I might already have changed things."

Sam's blue eyes flew open and looked at him widely. "Sir? What do you mean?"

He looked her in the eye and took a deep breath. "I had a split second to make a decision. To shoot you a second time, or not. We thought it was trying to get itself into the base mainframe, we didn't know it was transferring you. It was a choice between you, or the SGC. But …" He ran a hand through his hair. "… but in the back of my mind, I knew you were alive in 2034. So I took the shot."

"You would have done it anyway. You wouldn't have sacrificed the SGC, the safety of the planet, for me."

"Wouldn't I?" He shook his head. "I guess we'll never know. But what if that was the call I was supposed to make? What if that's what the other guy did, and now I've changed things?"

"Sir, I honestly don't believe you would have made a different decision. You'd have done what needed to be done."

"Would you have?" He asked her. He immediately regretted it. A look of pain crossed her already drawn face. "Never mind."

"The bottom line is that I'm alive and the base is safe. That will have to be enough."

"Yeah." He gave into temptation and took her hand, taking comfort in the feel of her skin.

"Sir, time's up." Fraiser's voice preceded the sound of her heels crossing the concrete floor, and Jack dropped Sam's hand quickly, standing.

"Rest up, Carter." He said with a smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"Yes sir."


	2. 2001

**Season 5 Episode 10 - 2001**

 _Episode summary: SG-1 meet the Aschen, who want to trade gate addresses for some extremely tempting advanced technology. Jack, Sam, and Ambassador Joseph Faxon proceed with the negotiations, but Daniel and Teal'c find evidence that the Aschen have a history of sterilising populations and reducing once heavily populated areas to deserted farmland. Jack tries to warn the President, but is stopped by Senator Kinsey. It is left to Sam and Joe Faxon to confront the Aschen directly. The Aschen try to launch a bioweapon through the gate to the SGC. Faxon sacrifices himself so that Sam can escape through the gate and warn the SGC. She falls through the gate at speed and warns them to close the iris, just before the weapon comes through.  
_

* * *

"So … dislocated shoulder, huh?" Jack asked as he sauntered over to Sam's infirmary bed.

"Yes sir." She smiled ruefully.

"Has Doc Fraiser got you on the good meds?" He teased.

"I should be so lucky." She muttered darkly. "No, I have to be sharp for the debriefing later."

"Yeah, Kinsey's out for blood." Jack said, shoving his hands in his pockets and rocking on his heels. "Mine, mostly."

"That doesn't even make sense, you didn't really do anything this time." Sam argued. "Daniel found the evidence about the vaccine causing infertility, and I confronted the Aschen. All you did was try and fail to warn the President."

"Since when did Kinsey ever need a logical reason to hate my guts?"

"I guess." She almost shrugged, and winced at the spark of pain. "Has there been any talk of a rescue mission?"

"For the Ambassador?" Jack asked.

She nodded. "He could still be alive."

Jack winced and looked at the floor. "Hammond says it's too risky. I happen to agree."

"Sir, he knowingly risked his life to ensure I could escape in time to warn the SGC about the bomb. What happened to not leaving people behind?"

"Easy, Carter." Jack barked. She flinched and looked at her hands unhappily. "I don't like it either, but the fact of the matter is that even if we did successfully get an SAR team through the gate, the Aschen would see us coming immediately. We don't even know how to find the harvester he was on when you left, let alone where they will have taken him after that or if he's even still alive. I'm sorry, but he's on his own."

"Yes sir." She said softly, not meeting his eye.

Jack pulled up a chair at her bedside.

"At least now we know why there wasn't any Aschen technology in 2034." He said after a moment, clearly trying to change the subject.

"What would we have done if Daniel hadn't found that newspaper?" She asked.

"We would have sent him back to keep 'digging' until he found something." Jack said. "We knew there had to be something, otherwise 2034 would have looked a little different."

"Something a little more like the future from where that note came." Sam said.

"Yeah, how does that work?" Jack said, looking confused. "That future 'us' sent a note back in time and in so doing, _changed_ the timeline so they – we – now don't need to send a note … but we came back in time from 2034 and we need to do the exact opposite?"

"Something like that." Sam said. "The difference is what they were doing was creating an alternate timeline. The timeline they came from still exists, but they made us branch off into an alternate future. What we're doing, which is arguably a little more difficult, is trying to ensure we don't branch off. We need this timeline intact."

Jack squinted at her. "I almost understood that."

"Time travel paradoxes are the worst." Sam sympathised.

"Do you think they had a 'Beth and Jake' in their damaged Aschen-riddled timeline?" He wondered.

"Probably not. Especially given that the Aschen miracle drug apparently causes infertility." Sam said.

"Right."

There was an awkward pause.

"It's been a while since we've talked about this." Jack commented.

"You mean about 2034?" Sam asked.

"Yeah." Jack looked at her askance. "How weird was it when Faxon asked you out in the gate room in front of me and Hammond?"

"He was just being friendly."

"He was flirting. A lot."

"I turned him down." Sam said defensively.

Jack frowned. "Would you have, though? If you didn't know about …" He wiggled his fingers between the two of them to indicate their mutual foreknowledge of their future matrimony and parenthood.

"I honestly don't know how I can possibly know for sure. It's been six months since we went to 2034, a lot can change in that amount of time. Every decision we make – every decision we've made in the last six months – has been influenced by what we saw in the future."

Jack went quiet then and studied his hands. "You could have said yes, you know."

Sam's eyebrows rose. "What?"

"To Faxon. You could have said yes to the date."

"I don't understand, are you trying to give me _permission_?" She wasn't sure if she was insulted or if she thought it was sweet of him. She was leaning towards insulted.

Jack rolled his eyes impatiently. "I'm just saying we could be fighting this war for a long time. There's no reason you can't have a social life in the meantime."

Sam glared at him. " _I know._ " She said through gritted teeth.

"Look, Carter, I'm not trying to piss you off. This is an incredibly weird situation, knowing what we know so far in advance, and I just don't want you to feel beholden to me or anything …"

"Sir, seriously, you're just digging yourself a deeper hole. We don't need to talk about this."

He looked at her for a long moment.

"I know what you're trying to say." She said eventually with a sigh. "And I appreciate the sentiment."

"Even if the delivery needs some work?" He joked. She almost rolled her eyes at him. "So we're ok?" He checked.

"Yes, sir. We're ok."

"Good." He blew out a breath, and slapped his hands to the top of his thighs. "I'll leave you in peace then."

He stood to leave and turned away, but she stopped him with a very softly spoken word. "Jack?"

He turned to look at her in surprise at her use of his first name.

"Just so you know … I'm not planning on doing any dating." She said.

He smiled softly.

"Me neither."


	3. Rite of Passage

**Season 5 Episode 6 – Rite of Passage**

 _ **Episode Summary:** It's Cassandra's 16_ _th_ _birthday. That's all you really need to know for the purpose of this tag.  
 **Author's note:**_ _Sorry this one's out of order, it should have gone up before 2001, not after. Ah well. Also, please note this tag is a prequel, set before the episode, not after the episode like all the others._

* * *

Daniel sat down heavily on the chair opposite Sam at her table in the mess.

"I found a language I can't translate." He said.

"Oh? I thought you were getting on well with the tablet SG-10 brought back?" Sam asked, surprised.

"I am, that's not the language I'm talking about." He said. "I don't speak teenage girl."

Sam grinned. "Cassie?"

"I asked her what she wanted for her birthday. Somehow that ended in me feeling very confused and her being pissed at me."

Sam chuckled. "She's at a difficult age. Don't worry, she'll grow out of it."

"That's great, but it doesn't help me figure out a birthday present." He said. "And it's her sixteenth … it has to be something good."

Sam looked at him thoughtfully. "Maybe the four of us should do something together."

"The four of us? Hasn't Jack got something already?"

"He got her a tshirt that says 'What planet are you from?'. I think he can stretch to something else." She said dryly.

"Won't Cassie be a bit put out at getting one thing from all of us rather than four presents?"

"She's not a little kid, Daniel. We'll get her something special, something that costs a bit more as we're all pooling for it."

Daniel smiled. "Ok. I'm sold. Will you pick the present?"

"Unless the Colonel or Teal'c have any ideas … yeah, I guess I'm picking the present. I'll let them know and I'll go shopping tonight."

* * *

 _One week later…_

"Oh, for heaven's _sake_!"

Carter's exclamation made Jack stop abruptly, three feet short of her lab door, reconsidering his intention to drop in on his way out of the mountain. The decision was made for him when he heard a crash, and he rushed into the room to find her precariously balanced on her desk's swivel chair with heavy-looking file folders scattered around on her on the floor, and holding a plastic crate half-off the shelf above her head.

"Carter, what the hell?" He said, moving at once to secure her on the rotating chair with his hands at her waist, while she lifted the heavy crate down.

"Thank you, sir." She said as she climbed down.

"Are you _trying_ to land yourself in the infirmary?"

"I just … I needed these notes." She said, indicating the dusty pile of folders in the crate.

"And it couldn't have waited until tomorrow when there were other people around, because …?"

"Because I have a million things to do and _none_ of them can wait until tomorrow." She said, sounding more stressed than Jack had ever heard her get over paperwork. "I need these notes to finish a report that the head of Area 51 needs tonight, I was going to do it this morning but we had a power fluctuation in the gate's capacitors that I had to work on all day, and my mission report needs writing, and General Hammond wants a report on the gate malfunction by 0800 tomorrow, and I'm supposed to be on the other side of Colorado Springs right now picking up Cassie's birthday present for tomorrow night." She said, sounding increasingly hysterical.

"Woah, Carter, breathe." Jack said. "Firstly, leave the mission report, that can wait. And I thought you already got Cassie's present the other day?"

"I had to order it in, I picked a necklace from the display but they'd already sold that one and they had to order in a new one for me."

"Ok, well, I can do that. They'll let me pick it up for you, right?"

"I think so, as long as you have the receipt from the payment. Are you sure you don't mind?"

"It's fine, I'm not doing anything. And I can talk to Hammond if you like, get you an extension on the gate glitch report."

"No. Thank you sir, but I should get that one done tonight while it's fresh in my mind." She said. "I'll do the Area 51 report first, then the gate report, and then I'll get some sleep in base quarters."

Jack nodded, frowning. "Carter, not that I don't get how invaluable your particular expertise is to everyone, but is there no one you can delegate this sort of stuff to?"

She sighed and rubbed her forehead tiredly. "Strictly speaking I guess there are other people who could have done it, but when I'm asked to do something … I just do it."

Jack smirked. "Too valuable for your own good, huh?"

"Yes sir." She smiled wryly. "Are you sure you're ok with picking up Cassie's necklace?"

"Absolutely. Where's the receipt?"

She opened her desk drawer and retrieved it, handing it to him, giving him a heartfelt 'Thank you'.

"You're welcome." He smiled. "I'll go pick it up now. Don't stay up all night with this stuff."

* * *

At the jewellery shop, Jack handed over the receipt to the imperious little man behind the counter, and rocked on his heels with his hands in his pockets while he waited for Cassie's necklace to be retrieved from the storage out back.

It took a while, and he took to wandering around the shop, browsing over the sparkly jewellery for lack of anything better to do.

That was when he saw it.

Doing an actual, honest-to-God double take, he blinked at the distinctively set sapphire and white-gold ring at the left of the display case. He'd seen that ring before. Had made a point, actually, of memorising exactly what it looked like.

It was the ring General Samantha Carter had worn on the ring-finger of her left hand in the year 2034.

He stared at it, frozen, for a few minutes. It was the same ring, he was sure of it. But what did it mean? Jewellery shops didn't stock the same rings forever … in a few months it could be gone. But would it be hideously presumptive of him to buy an engagement ring for Sam years before he was even allowed to date her? And what if this was wrong for the timeline? Surely buying a ring because he'd seen in the future that he'd bought the ring was some kind of freaky time-travel paradox? But as he _had_ memorised what it looked like, that was unavoidable anyway … right?

The balding proprietor in his three piece suit came back with a necklace box, and cleared his throat. "Sir?"

"Yeah …" He pulled himself away from the display and went over to sign for the necklace.

"Were you perhaps interested in something else over there, sir?" The little man asked, smiling obsequiously.

Jack looked back at the ring again for a long moment. It was right there. He might never have this opportunity again. Wasn't Carter always going on about making sure they protected the timeline?

"Yes." He said decisively. "That engagement ring. I want to buy it."

Hours later, he went to bed with a smile on his face, thinking about Sam's ring tucked securely away in his wall-safe, ready and waiting for her.


	4. Meridian

**Season 5 Episode 21 - Meridian**

 _Episode summary: Daniel stops a naquadia bomb from detonating on Kelowna, and receives a lethal dose of radiation. Jacob Carter attempts to save him with a Goa'uld healing device, but Daniel - aided by Oma Desala - asks Jack to tell Jacob to stop. He dies, and ascends to a higher plane of existence. **  
**_

* * *

At the knock on her front door, Sam set down her glass of wine and closed her eyes.

The knock came again.

She stood and went to the door, already knowing who it was.

"Sir?" She said as she opened it. He stood there for a moment just looking at her.

"Can I come in?"

She wordlessly opened the door enough to admit him, and went back to her glass of wine, folding herself back into her seat on the couch. He sat down in the armchair to her right, perched on the edge with his hands clasped together.

"He's alive in 2034." Jack said. "Alive, and human. Human enough to have fathered Serena, anyway."

He watched her for a minute.

"It means he's coming back." He said eventually when she didn't speak.

"Yes sir." Sam said, taking another sip of her wine to swallow the lump in her throat.

"He's not dead, Sam." He said softly.

Sam looked upwards, trying to blink back a fresh wave of tears. "He died, and he's gone. Is it supposed to hurt less because he's ascended instead of dead?"

She saw him stop himself from giving an abrupt answer of 'Yes'.

"He's coming back." He said again, instead.

"So I should pull myself together and pretend everything's fine like you and Teal'c, is that it?" Sam asked angrily, as a few hot tears escaped from the corners of her eyes.

"I'm not … that's not what I came here to say."

"Then what?"

He looked at her for a long moment, and she let out a deep, shuddery breath. He stood, took the wine glass from her hand and sat down next to her on the couch.

"C'mere."

She resisted at first, still angry, but he was insistent and she eventually let him pull her into his arms. The tender act of kindness was too much, and it felt like a damn burst as she started to cry into his shirt. He held her until she'd calmed down.

"I was so mad at you for telling Dad to stop." She admitted in a whisper.

"He told me it was what he wanted."

"I know." She sighed. "I just miss him."

"Me too."


	5. Nightwalkers & Abyss

**Season 6 Episodes 5 & 6 - Nightwalkers & Abyss**

 _ **Episode summaries:**  
Nightwalkers - A small town has been taken over by Goa'uld, who can only take control of their hosts at night. Dr Flemming contacts Carter and is subsequently killed, SG-1 (minus O'Neill) are sent to investigate. They discover the Goa'uld are building a spacecraft. As they get closer to the truth, they are attacked by the Goa'uld infested townsfolk, and on a hunch Sam injects herself with Dr Flemming's mystery drug. She is implanted with a symbiote, which then dies - Flemming's mystery drug killed it. She fakes being a Goa'uld and saves Teal'c and Jonas, and then apprehends the Goa'ulded NID agents - who had been monitoring the town. The townsfolk are saved, and the ship sent to Area 51.  
Abyss - Jack, who accepted the Tok'ra symbiote Kanan as a means to save his life following being infected with a deadly Ancient virus, is abandoned by Kanan during a failed rogue mission, and is captured by Ba'al. Ba'al tortures him until death repeatedly, each time reviving him with a sarcophagus. Daniel appears, and offers Jack the chance to ascend, to break the cycle and escape. Jack is resistant, and Sam, Jonas and Teal'c eventually manage to pull off a rescue.  
_

* * *

Jack had almost gone to General Hammond's July 4th party. He knew he ought to put in an appearance, being 2IC of the SGC, but … he was still technically on medical leave until Monday, so he figured he could beg off. Ultimately the thought of facing that many people, who all knew he'd just been fighting off a nasty sarcophagus addiction, was more than he was quite ready to deal with.

Instead he had a bottle of whisky, and a box of Simpsons DVDs. He put on some sweatpants, and settled in for the long haul.

He should have known really, that he wouldn't get away with it.

The knock on his door came halfway through the fifth episode, and at the beginning of his third whisky. He contemplated not answering, but decided that while he could justify avoiding the party, hiding from whoever was at the door would mean he had crossed the border into cowardice. That wasn't a town he wanted to live in.

He sighed and got to his feet, padding through the house to the front door in his socks, sweatpants and t-shirt. He peered through the peephole first, in case it was someone for whom he ought to be a bit more dressed.

It was Carter.

Jack opened the door. She smiled tentatively at him, and he was struck by how … _pretty_ … she looked. Carter didn't usually do 'pretty'. Hot, frequently. Beautiful, often. Pretty? Not so much.

Today though, she looked like a girl, from her styled hair and flowery sundress right down to her painted toenails peeking out from her high heeled sandals.

"Carter." He said by way of greeting, waving his whisky tumbler vaguely. A little spilt over the side, and he glared at it. He wasn't drunk already, was he?

"Sir. I noticed you weren't at the party, and I thought I'd just stop by to say hi." She said. "I brought some party food."

He noticed the basket she was carrying. "You stole food from Hammond's party?"

"He gave it to me to give to you."

"Ah, so Hammond sent you to check on me." He said.

Sam rolled her eyes. "He just thought one of us might run into you in the next couple of days, that's all. I'm here of my own free will."

"But quickly losing that will, I'm guessing."

Sam cocked her head, frowning at him. "Sir? Are you alright?"

Jack sighed. "What do you want, Carter?"

She looked a little hurt by the question. "I just wanted to make sure you were ok." She said quietly. "Here, take the food, I'll leave you in peace."

She handed over the basket, but he grabbed hold of her wrist before she could withdraw it.

"Wait – I'm sorry for being an ass. Come in for a bit."

She looked at him carefully. "Are you sure?"

"Yes." He released her wrist and opened the door wider.

Sam walked past him, her heels clicking on his floor, stopping in the living room when she saw the drawn blinds, bottle of whisky and paused Simpsons episode.

"Sorry about the mess." He said, opening the blinds and turning off the TV. "Wasn't expecting company."

"It's fine." She said.

"Sit." He said, putting the food basket down on the coffee table and flopping down into his previous position on the couch.

Sam perched on the chair opposite, still looking at him warily.

"How was the party?" He asked, when she didn't say anything.

"It was good. Lots of people came." She said. "Cassie was there too – she was asking after you."

"I'll go visit her next week, after I'm back at work."

"I'm sure she'd like that."

There was another long moment of awkward silence. Eventually Sam blew out a frustrated breath and looked him in the eye. "Sir, I'm sorry, there's something I want to talk to you about and I can't think of a good way to segue into it."

He raised his eyebrows. "Ok. Shoot."

"Did you agree to take a Tok'ra symbiote because _I_ asked you to? Or was it because you knew you had to survive because of the future we saw in 2034?"

Jack felt the question like a body blow, and leaned his head back on the couch. "Geez Carter. There really wasn't any way to ease into that one, huh?"

"I'm sorry sir, it's just I haven't stopped thinking about it since it happened, and it's driving me crazy. I need to know."

"Why? So you can blame yourself for Kanan body-snatching me and Ba'al's little shop of horrors?"

Sam gestured uselessly. "I don't know."

He groaned. "Ok. If I'm honest, it was a little of both. If I hadn't known about the future and you hadn't been there asking me to do it, I probably wouldn't have. But I did know, and you did ask, and I agreed. That doesn't make what happened afterwards your fault though."

Sam looked a little crushed. "I just wanted …"

"I know."

"You were going to die."

He watched as she looked away from him and visibly pulled her emotions back in check. "I mean it, Sam. It's not your fault. I'm not blaming you."

"Yes sir." She said.

"And hey, I'm back, I'm alive, and we're still on track for 2034."

"Yes sir." She said again, toying with the hem of her dress.

He studied her for a moment, noticing the stress lines around her eyes. "You know Carter, it occurs to me that since I got back I haven't asked how you're doing."

Her eyes shot up to meet his. "Sir?"

"I'm not the only one who got snaked recently."

She flinched, and he winced in self-recrimination at his choice of words.

"I'm fine sir." She said with a blank expression.

"You wanna try that again with some feeling?"

"Honestly sir, it only had control for a few minutes, before Dr Flemming's poison killed it."

"Still … must have brought back some stuff." He prodded sympathetically.

"I guess. But I am ok, really. McKenzie cleared me for active duty after one session, and when I had my physical a few days ago Janet said the symbiote has been completely broken down now. It's gone."

"Well, good. I'm glad." He thought for a moment. "How is it that we've both been infested twice and yet you've now got two protein markers while I have none?"

"Because both times the symbiote died in me and got absorbed by my body, while both of your times the symbiote left you before it died." Sam said.

"Still … weird."

"Yes sir." She chuckled ruefully. "There is almost nothing about this that isn't weird."

He smiled at her, and she smiled back, and for the first time since he'd been infected with the Ancient plague and got snaked, he actually felt ok.

He cleared his throat. "By the way … I should probably tell you … I saw Daniel."

Her eyes widened almost comically. "What?"

"Between sessions in Ba'al's fun house. He dropped in to try to convince me to opt for the Oma Desala fan club rather than a never ending cycle of torture, death, sarcophagus … etcetera."

"He wanted you to ascend?" She asked, perplexed.

"I know, right? Talk about barking up the wrong tree."

"So … he's ok? He _is_ out there somewhere?"

"He's fine. And … I may have mentioned something to him about 2034."

Sam's jaw dropped open. "You told him?" She said slowly.

"I know I shouldn't have, but I was pretty out of it by that point. I wanted him to understand why accepting death and ascending to a higher plane of existence wasn't an option for me."

"Did you tell him that he's alive and _not_ ascended in the future?"

"I think so."

"You _think_ so?" She repeated incredulously.

"Like I said – I was out of it."

"Sir, my older self specifically said not to tell _anyone_. If you've told Daniel, it could affect what he does, what decisions he makes, for the next thirty years."

"So, bottom line, I may have just screwed up the timeline."

Sam sighed. "I don't know. Maybe."

"How much damage could it really do, if Daniel knows? He can be discrete."

Sam raised her eyebrows.

"No, you're right, he can't." Jack said resignedly. "But … once he's back in the land of the living, we can talk to him. Explain about the importance of not screwing anything up, for the sake of his kid."

"Oh no, we can't tell him about Serena." Sam said quickly. "That could really mess things up. No, we don't tell him – or anyone else – anything else, other than the bare minimum to keep Daniel in line, if and when he's back with us."

Jack nodded. "Ok."

"I just hope that him knowing doesn't change things so that he doesn't come back." Sam said worriedly.

Jack felt himself growing pale. "Oh God, have I stopped Serena from being born?"

Sam shook her head. "There's no point panicking about it yet. For all we know this was supposed to happen and everything's still on track."

Jack looked at her grimly. "Let's hope."


	6. Unnatural Selection

**Season 6 Episode 12 - Unnatural Selection**

 _Episode summary: SG-1, stranded far from home aboard the yet-to-be-named X303 (Prometheus), are found by Thor who enlists their help to trap the replicators inside a time dilation field. However, they discover the replicators have evolved and modeled themselves after their human-form creator Reese. Sam convinces Fifth - who appears more human - to help them complete the mission and escape, but Jack orders her to cut short the time they allow Fifth to follow them and escape, trapping him in the time dilation field with the others. Back on the ship, Sam and Jonas voice their discomfort to Jack over what they have just done to Fifth._

* * *

 _Bounce._

 _Bounce._

 _Bounce._

"O'Neill." Teal'c deep voice rumbled a warning.

"Sorry." Jack put the little ball in his pocket. He pulled out a pen.

 _Click-click._

 _Click-click._

Teal'c stood suddenly, facing him.

"Why don't I go see how Carter's doing?" Jack said, pocketing the pen and raising his hands in capitulation to the big jaffa. Teal'c remained standing, watching him with narrowed eyes, until Jack had left the room.

He wasn't really all that eager to drop in on Carter. She was pretty mad at him. He could tell by all the uncharacteristic back-talk she'd given him when they had all discussed his decision to order her to leave Fifth behind.

Still – there was something they should talk about privately. Might as well do it now while they were cooling their collective heels waiting for Thor to come and tow the X-303 back to Earth.

He found her in the engine room, futzing with something in a floor-level electrical panel. She had looked up at him when he opened the door, and he saw her expression close off when she saw it was him. _Yup, still mad._

"Hey." He said, closing the door behind him.

"Sir." She said.

"What are you doing?"

"I figured I might as well do some work on the ship while we're waiting for Thor." She answered, turning back to her task.

 _Wow, no techno-babble. She really is mad._

"Carter … you _know_ I made the right call." He said.

She didn't respond.

"He was a Replicator. Even if he acted more human, he was _still_ a Replicator. We don't know for sure he wouldn't have gone all dark-side like the others. We might have ended up with another Reese on our hands, and you know how well _that_ turned out."

"I'm not questioning your orders sir."

"You were."

She sat back on her heels for a moment. "I apologise for my insubordination, sir." She said coolly.

"Oh for crying out loud …" Jack muttered, scrubbing his hand through his hair. "Sam, I'm not going to apologise for leaving him behind."

"I'm not asking you to!" Sam protested.

"Well, will you stop giving me the cold shoulder then please?"

"I just want you to acknowledge that it wasn't a completely black and white decision. He helped us, he trusted us, and we betrayed him. We're supposed to be the good guys, we're not supposed to do things like that."

"It was a difficult situation, but there's no other way it could have gone down. Letting him out wasn't worth the risk." He shook his head, frustrated. "Why am I explaining this to you, you're military, you understand the concept of tactical decisions. I feel like I'm having a fight with Daniel."

Sam scowled but didn't meet his eye, staring instead at the electrical panel.

"I'm not really mad at _you_." She admitted eventually.

Jack raised an eyebrow. "Good …?"

"I just hate that _I_ did that. I'm the one who convinced him to help us, I'm the one he trusted. I'm the one who set the timer and betrayed him."

"You were following my orders."

"For the last part – the timer – yes. But you didn't order me to manipulate him into helping us or to make him a promise I couldn't keep. I promised him we'd take him with us, but in the back of my mind I knew there was a pretty good chance you wouldn't allow that to happen. I lied to him."

Jack leaned against the wall, looking down at her. "Don't beat yourself up about it. If you hadn't got him on side, we'd still be down there, getting our heads examined from the inside out over and over."

Sam nodded, but looked unconvinced.

Jack sighed. "Listen, there's something else I wanted to talk to you about …"

"The Replicators would have seen our memories of the future. Of 2034."

"Yeah. Do you remember them looking at that?"

"No. You?"

He shook his head. "But … they're trapped back there now, right? So it shouldn't matter?"

"I don't think it would matter too much anyway. The only thing they would learn from our memories is that in one possible future Earth isn't overrun by replicators by the year 2034. They weren't targeting Earth anyway, and if they have anything going for them it's patience."

"So … it's no big deal that our super-secret trip to the future was out-ed to a bunch of replicators?"

"I don't think so, sir, no." She nodded.

"Good." He said with a sigh of relief.

There was a long moment of uncomfortable silence, and he rocked on his heels feeling awkward.

"O'Neill." Teal'c radioed him.

"Go ahead Teal'c."

"Thor has arrived. You and Major Carter should return to the bridge."

"We're on our way."

Sam closed the panel and stood.

"Let's go home." He said.


	7. Paradise Lost

**Season 6 Episode 15 – Paradise lost**

 _Episode Summary: Maybourne conspires to trick SG-1 into letting him travel to live out the rest of his days in a legendary off-world paradise, but ends up trapping himself and Jack in a nightmarish deserted place, with no way home. The SGC try to find Jack with no luck, while Jack and Maybourne become progressively more paranoid and out of control due to a poisonous plant. After nearly a month, Teal'c finds Sam crying in the women's locker room. Finally, Sam figures out they were sent to the planet's moon and the Tok'ra pick them up._

* * *

Jack stepped through the gate alone, to the very welcome sight of his team and General Hammond.

"Welcome home, Colonel." Hammond said, smiling.

"It is _so_ good to be home, sir." He met the eyes of each of his teammates briefly in turn, glad to see they were all in one piece after his month-long absence.

"Where's Colonel Maybourne?" Hammond asked.

"He's … not coming back." Jack hedged. "I'll explain later."

"Perhaps you'd like to take a shower first." The general suggested, as Jack walked down the ramp and their expressions morphed from smiles to grimaces.

He stopped beside Carter, his gaze flitting between her and Hammond. "Bad?" He asked them both.

"Indeed." Teal'c said from behind him, making him spin around to give Teal'c the eyebrow.

"Shower, Colonel. Consider that an order." Hammond said.

* * *

One long shower, and an even longer debriefing later, he drove home – to find Carter's car in his driveway. He parked up and got out, giving it a long look. She wasn't in the car or outside his house, which suggested she was _in_ his house. Odd.

He opened his front door, and heard a muttered curse. "Carter?"

"Sir! I'm sorry, I thought you'd be a couple more hours." She said, emerging from his kitchen.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

She shifted from foot to foot apprehensively. "Well, uh, I was … you see, while you were gone … someone had to take care of your house. And since Teal'c and Jonas can't leave the base without an escort …"

"I'm back now." He pointed out.

"Yes sir. But the thing is, I was here last night, doing some cleaning, and I didn't … finish. So it was left in a mess, and I didn't want you to come home to find that, so I thought I'd just clear up now, before you got home."

He raised his eyebrows and walked round her into his kitchen.

 _Wow._

"I don't understand, was there some kind of toxic spill in here?" He asked, taking in the general chaos.

Sam followed him in. "I promise I'll clean it all up sir. It's just everything happened so quickly, with us figuring out where you were, and the Tok'ra ship was already in the area, and all they had to do was take you from the moon to the planet …"

"Carter." He cut her off with a wave of his hand. "It's ok, I'm not mad. I'm just … surprised you'd go to this much trouble when I wasn't even here to _use_ the kitchen."

She looked away, embarrassed. "I needed the distraction." She admitted quietly.

He just looked at her, and eventually she met his eyes.

"I don't do well with sitting on my hands." She said. "When you were stranded on Edora, I had a project, I had to invent a whole new brand of technology to rescue you. This time … we didn't have any clue where you were. Studying the doorway was a dead end, there were no human life signs on the planet _anywhere_ , and I didn't have anything to do but think. I was going nuts."

"So you decided to deep clean every square inch of my kitchen."

"Pretty much."

He chuckled. "It's not like you didn't know for sure I was coming back." He pointed out.

Sam started to say something but cut herself off sharply, looking away again.

"What?" He prompted.

"That doesn't mean I wasn't worried." She said. "It doesn't mean I didn't …" She cut herself off again with a shake of her head.

He put his hands on her shoulders, making her look at him. There was pain in her eyes. "C'mere." He said.

She took a step towards him and he wrapped his arms around her. She didn't cry, but she felt so incredibly tense in his arms.

"I haven't said thank you yet." He realised as he held her. "Thank you."

"For what?" She asked, her voice muffled in his chest.

"Figuring out where I was and sending the cavalry."

"Always." She said softly. He placed a chaste kiss in her hair and closed his eyes, enjoying the moment.

She pulled back sooner than he liked, and avoided his eye, looking around them. "I'll finish cleaning up." She said, getting back to work.

He picked up a bucket and worked beside her, and after some time the silent companionship seemed to ease some of the tension in her spine, and she relaxed back into the friendly, funny Carter he knew. She'd be ok. And so would they.


	8. Metamorphosis

**Season 6 Episode 16 – Metamorphosis**

 _Episode Summary: Nirrti has been performing genetic experiments on a small population, and SG-1 attempt to rescue them – but they don't want rescuing, they think Nirrti is their saviour. They are captured and Nirrti uses the genetic manipulation device on Sam, who starts dying. Eventually Jack convinces a telepathic native to look into Nirrti's mind, and the locals turn on her, killing her. The telepath uses the device to heal Sam, just in time._

* * *

Sam looked up as a shadow fell over her workbench. "Teal'c." She greeted him with a smile, which turned to a frown when she noted the subtle troubled expression on his face.

"Is something wrong?" She asked.

"I believe your presence is required in the gymnasium." He said.

"Why?"

"O'Neill." He said simply. He communicated the rest with just a look, and she easily read his concern for their team mate in his eyes. She set down her tools and stood.

"I'll go talk to him." She said. She had a pretty good idea what this was about, although she wondered at Teal'c figuring out that probably only she could help. Jack liked to joke that the big guy knew everything, but there were limits … right?

She walked quickly to the gym, which would usually be completely deserted at this hour. She'd been burning the midnight oil, as it were, herself.

And there was Jack, wailing on a punching bag with his fists. It looked pretty out of control too – not a measured practice session, but a man who really wanted to beat the crap out of a person and was settling for gym equipment.

"Sir?" She started carefully.

He ignored her, continuing his assault. She walked around into his field of vision, and tried again.

"Sir, is everything alright?"

"Teal'c sent you?" He asked. She opened her mouth to answer, but he cut her off. "I'm fine Carter. Just a little work-out session."

"After midnight sir?" She asked sceptically.

"That's when it's _quiet_." He said, landing a particularly vicious punch.

She watched him for another long moment, trying to figure a way in.

"Sir, if this is about what happened on the planet …"

He didn't respond, and didn't look at her, fists continuing to fly.

"I'm fine sir. And we always knew I would be."

If anything his assault on the punching bag got more intense, and she figured she'd struck a nerve.

"A couple more minutes and you would have _died_ , Carter."

"Well, yeah, but as we know that I'm alive in the future, we knew that was never going to happen." She reasoned.

He stopped, and leaned on the punching bag, breathing hard from the exertion.

"It's funny, I seem to recall having this exact conversation with you in reverse a couple of weeks ago when I got back from being missing on that moon. It didn't seem like the knowledge that I was going to be fine did much to help _you_ out."

She winced and looked at her hands, conceding the point.

"It doesn't really make it that much easier does it?" She agreed softly.

"If anything it makes it worse." Jack said. "Because along with being scared out of my mind that you were about to die, I was also scared out of my mind that I was about to lose the future. Our future. The kids."

"Towards the end, while you were missing, I started freaking out that I'd missed something, or done something wrong, and ruined the timeline." Sam admitted.

"Yeah." He sighed, and walked over to the bench at the side of the room, grabbing his towel and mopping at his face and neck.

She watched him, at a complete loss for words. She knew exactly what pain he was feeling – she'd felt it herself a dozen times since they'd returned from 2034. Every time they got into a life-threatening situation, it was like walking a high-wire of fear and nerves, waiting for the timeline to come crashing down around them and destroying their future.

Knowing how he felt though, meant she also knew there was really nothing she could say. Only time and normalcy healed this wound.

"Do you still have that picture?" Sam asked after a moment. "The one of the kids?"

"I do. It's in a safe place. You wanna see it?"

She nodded.

"Come round to my place tomorrow. I'll get it out." He said.

"I will. Thanks."

"I'm going to hit the showers and go to bed." He said, standing. "Night Carter."

"Night sir."

* * *

There was a knock on his front door, and Jack set down the plate he was washing in the sink, drying his hands.

"Hey Carter." He said as he opened the door. "Come in."

"I hope you don't mind me taking you up on your offer, sir." She said nervously.

"No, it's fine. You've got as much right to it as I have." He said.

"Where do you keep it?" She asked curiously.

"I have a wall-safe."

He walked into his living room and pulled the couch slightly away from the wall, revealing what looked like an electrical cupboard behind it. Opening the wooden door, he keyed in the code on his state-of-the-art safe, and the door opened with a heavy swing.

It had been a long time since he'd last opened it, and he paused for a moment, looking at the little ring box tucked in there next to the photo. The ring box that contained the engagement ring he'd bought for Carter a year ago, that she knew nothing about.

He pulled out the photograph and shut the safe.

He couldn't help but look at the picture, and she came to his side to join him.

"I can't believe it's been two years already." Sam said softly.

"Feels like yesterday." Jack said back. "Hey, I have a question."

She looked at him expectantly.

"If we screw up and ruin the timeline, will they just disappear from this photograph?"

Sam smirked. "This isn't a sci-fi B-movie sir. No. What happened, happened. This photograph will never change, even if we sabotaged the timeline intentionally. We would just branch off into an alternate timeline."

"Ok. Good."

"Have you spent the last two years rushing home after every mission to check they're still there?" Sam asked teasingly.

"No." He said, a tad defensively. He hadn't. But he had wondered.

Sam took the photo from him and gazed at it, taking a deep breath.

"Do you want to hold onto it for a while?" He asked.

She shook her head. "No, your safe is probably the best place for it. I wouldn't want it to get lost or fall into the wrong hands."

"At this point in time it wouldn't matter, to anyone else they'd just be three strangers." He said.

"Still … this is a photo taken thirty years in the future. The paper alone could reveal secrets best left alone."

He nodded, and took it back from her. "I could make you a copy."

She considered, staring at him. "I guess you could. Would you?"

"Sure."

"Thanks." She beamed at him, and he smirked back.

"You're welcome."


	9. Fragile Balance

**Season 7 Episode 3 – Fragile Balance**

 _ **Episode Summary:** Jack wakes up one morning to find he has regressed in age by more than 30 years. He remembers fragments of his abduction by an Asgard, and SG-1 investigate similar abductions to try and find out what happened. Dr Fraiser discovers Jack is a clone, and that he's dying. They hatch a plan to get SG-1 aboard the Asgard ship to rescue the original O'Neill. They confront Loki, and summon Thor, who agrees to fix the clone Jack's genetic problems so he can live. At the end of the episode, original Jack drops clone Jack off at a high school, and they agree not to keep in touch.  
 **Author's note:** There are two parts to this tag - a prequel set at the beginning of the episode (because I changed the beginning a bit) and a sequel set at the end of the episode (because I changed end a lot). Also, although this is the first tag I've done since Daniel's de-scension, as at this point of the series he hadn't remembered anything from when he was ascended, I'm going to save discussion of the possibility of him remembering what Jack told him in 'Abyss' until the next tag.  
_

* * *

 ** _EPISODE PREQUEL_**

Sam was just putting on her jacket, ready to head off to work, when someone started pounding on her door. She glanced at her watch. 0745. _Really?_

She opened it, and she gasped at the sight of the fifteen year old boy in front of her. She recognised that face.

" _Jake_?"

The boy blinked at her in confusion, and shook his head. "What? No, Carter, it's me. Jack."

"… Jack." She repeated, sceptically.

"Yes, Jack! Someone shrank me. I need you to get me to the base, so you and Fraiser can run whatever tests you need to run, and _fix me_." He rolled his eyes and pulled up his trousers, which were clearly _way_ too big for him, as was the rest of his clothing.

Sam looked at him with narrowed eyes. "You're claiming you're Colonel Jack O'Neill, and that someone … _shrank_ … you."

"Yes! And we need to go to the SGC, _now_."

"Why would anyone shrink you?"

"I don't know. Maybe they thought it would be funny. Now can we get to the part where you start believing me and work on fixing it?"

She bit her lip, trying to tell in his eyes if it was really him.

He rolled his eyes again. "Ok, fine. You once carried a Tok'ra symbiote named Jolinar, who died to save you. Daniel recently came back from being ascended, when he got kicked out of the Oma Desala fan club for breaking the rules. A couple of years ago you and I accidentally travelled to the year 2034 where we met our _kids_ , Jake and Beth, and had to rescue General Samantha Carter from an evil corporation. Do you believe me now?"

"Wow." She muttered. "I think we should go to the base."

" _Thank_ you."

She picked up her keys and shut the front door behind her. "Technically it was an evil non-governmental organisation, not an evil corporation."

"Really Carter? You're correcting my nomenclature at a time like this?"

"I'm just saying."

She got in the car, and he went round to the passenger side. Once he'd fastened his seatbelt, he looked at her.

"You thought I was _Jake_?"

* * *

 ** _EPISODE SEQUEL_**

"How are you feeling?" Daniel asked the fifteen year old clone.

"Much better." He said. "Thank you Thor."

"You are most welcome, O'Neill." Thor said.

"So he's fixed now?" The older Jack asked. "He's not going to die?"

"Barring accident, he should live as long as you will." Thor confirmed.

"Great." The mini Jack patted himself down and bounced experimentally, then looked straight at Sam. "Carter, can I have a word?"

Sam looked at the original Jack, who's eyebrows had risen to his hairline.

"Sure." She said uncertainly. She followed the clone away from the rest of the group.

"So … I just want you to know … I won't tell anyone about the whole time travelling to the future thing. In fact, after this moment, I'll never speak of it again."

"Thank you, Colonel. I appreciate that."

"I'm the proverbial third wheel here. I'll leave that stuff to you and …" He scowled at his older counterpart, " _… him._ "

Sam squirmed in embarrassment. "Right."

"Right. Anyway, that's all I wanted to say."

He backed away, maintaining eye contact, before turning and heading back to the others.

"Ok. Thor, thanks for the assist." The original Jack said. "You mind dropping us back home?"

"Of course, O'Neill."

"Uh, wait, sir, I'd like to stay a little longer if I could. I want to talk with Thor a bit more about the technology and the other abductees." Sam interjected suddenly.

Both O'Neills looked at her, both with narrowed eyes, trying to figure her out. "Is that alright with you, Thor?" Jack asked.

"That would be acceptable. I will transport Major Carter back to the SGC separately." Thor answered.

"Ok then. Have fun." Jack said to her. She gave a forced smile in response.

And then they were gone. She took a deep breath, looking to the ceiling, questioning the sanity of her plan.

"Major Carter. You had questions for me?" Thor prompted.

"Actually Thor, I have a favour to ask." The little Asgard cocked his head at her. "I want you to create a fifteen year old clone of me."

* * *

Sam leaned against the wall of the high school, watching as Jack's truck pulled up. She saw the younger Jack talking to him, and then got out of the car. She took a deep breath and started walking towards him. _Moment of truth_.

He was leaning against the door, talking to the older Jack through the open window. She slowed her pace, waiting for him to finish the conversation and walk away. It would be easier if the older Jack didn't see her.

He took a step back from the car and put on some sunglasses, patting the door in farewell. She was there, waiting to intercept him before he walked into the school, but … she was busted. The original Jack saw her, and stared, eyes narrowed. _Damn, he recognises me._

The younger Jack saw the direction of his original's gaze, and turned to look at her. She couldn't see his eyes behind the glasses, but she knew he was staring at her just like the original was. Shrugging, she gave the older Jack a smile and a wave, before walking up to the younger Jack and hooking her arm through his. "Come on, I've got a lot to tell you." She said.

"Carter?" He whispered.

She grinned at him. "Call me Sam."

* * *

Sam unlocked the front door of her house, and dumped her keys in the bowl inside, kicking off her boots and hanging up her jacket. She wandered into the kitchen, intending to check her messages, but froze when someone cleared his throat loudly from the direction of the living room. She turned and walked slowly towards the living room, relaxing a little when she saw it was Jack.

"Sir?"

"Carter." He said. He didn't look happy.

"How did you get into my house?" She asked.

He just raised an eyebrow at her.

"Did you need something, sir?" She tried again.

"You'll never guess who I just ran into." He said.

 _Oh God, he knows._

"Sir?" She said, trying for innocence.

"A certain blue-eyed, blonde-haired fifteen year old with a fondness for motorcycles, blue jello, and astro _physics_." He emphasized the last two syllables as though they alone condemned her.

"I can explain." She started.

"Don't bother. So that's why you wanted to stay behind with Thor on the ship. You had him clone _you_ , too."

She didn't know what to say. "Yes sir."

"What the hell were you thinking?" He started yelling. "It was bad enough just having a clone of me running around loose out there, but now there's one of _you_? Have you any idea how big of a security risk that is?"

"She's me, sir, she's not going to start blabbing about the stargate program."

"Do I need to remind you that you've been kidnapped on Earth before? What if someone finds out and decides to grab her?"

"She doesn't have Jolinar's protein marker or any naquadah in her blood, sir. They wouldn't have any use for her."

"And what about all the knowledge in her head? If someone took her and applied the right pressure –"

"You think I'd break under torture and start spilling secrets?" Sam yelled back, furious.

"I didn't say that."

"Yes you did!" She stepped towards him. "Why is she any more of a security risk than your clone?"

"Maybe she's not, but having another one _doubles_ the risk."

"So, if you were in his position, you'd rather be ejected out into the world alone, than with me."

"I didn't say that either." He protested, infuriated. "You shouldn't have done it. Not without asking me first."

"There was no way you would have agreed."

"No. There wasn't."

"Well … exactly." She said, as if that settled it.

"Exactly!"

They reached a stand-off, both glaring at each other furiously. Sam backed down first, as she knew she was at least a little in the wrong.

"It's just, I thought if I was in his position, given that we've spent the last two years keeping ourselves going with the thought of the end of the war and the kids … I thought the least I could do was make sure he didn't have to do it alone."

Jack's gaze softened a fraction and he looked at the floor. "Have you put yourself in _her_ position? With no science or technology to play with, having to dumb herself down for the teachers at that school, and once the Air Force finds out about her, being drafted back in to act as your spare?"

Sam shook her head. "I made a plan. 'We' did, actually. The Air Force won't find out about her unless she wants them to. She'll be ok, sir, I made sure of it. And anyway, she's me. You think I couldn't take care of myself out there?"

Jack sighed. " _Damn_ , Carter." He chuckled, and flopped back on her couch. "You've got some balls, I'll give you that."

She smirked and cocked an eyebrow.

He grunted. "I'll have to change the code on my safe."

Sam frowned. "You think your clone will steal from you?"

Jack looked guilty suddenly, and stood. "Probably not. Anyway, I should go."

"So I'm forgiven?" She asked wryly.

He looked at her for a long moment.

"I'm still pissed that you did it without discussing it with me first. But … I get it. I suppose."

"I think I'm a little bit jealous of her, actually." Sam admitted softly.

Jack raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"She doesn't have to wait for the end of the war."

Both eyebrows raised at that. "She probably has to wait for adulthood though."

Sam swatted him. "That's not what I was talking about." She scolded, and he smirked.

"I know."


	10. Orpheus

**Season 7 Episode 4 – Orpheus**

 _Episode Summary:_ _Teal'c is wounded and has a long road to recovery, during which it becomes apparent that he is suffering a serious crisis of confidence - he feels that the Tretonin has made him weak, a failing which in jaffa culture is akin to being dead. Daniel begins to remember seeing Rya'c and Bra'tac in danger while he was ascended, and eventually figures out where they are. They mount a rescue, and Teal's is captured and tortured, while SG-1 are forced to wait nearby and do nothing. SG-1 execute a daring rescue plan, and Teal'c gets his mojo back as he fights with his mentor and son to overthrow the prison camp's commander._

* * *

Daniel stared with narrowed eyes at Jack and Sam, perched side by side at the bar ordering the next round of drinks for the four of them. He had that niggling feeling again, that he'd forgotten something important.

The last time he'd had that feeling he'd been trying to remember that Rya'c and Bra'tac were in mortal danger, so he was taking it very seriously.

Teal'c, who after his brief vacation with his son and mentor was in the highest spirits Daniel had seen in his friend in months, leaned forward, resting his forearms on the table, entering Daniel's field of vision as he stared bar-wards.

"Is something troubling you, my friend?"

Daniel sighed and frowned, still staring at their team mates. "I've got that feeling that I've forgotten something important again."

"Another memory from your time as an ascended being?" Teal'c asked.

"Maybe." Daniel cocked his head and squinted. There wasn't anything particularly remarkable about the sight of Jack and Sam talking with each other while they waited at the bar. He couldn't put his finger on it.

"Perhaps you should join me again in meditation." Teal'c suggested. "The method seemed to help when you were endeavouring to remember seeing Rya'c and Bra'tac."

"Yeah. Thanks, maybe I will."

He watched them for another long moment, and then something occurred to him.

"They're very … comfortable, around each other these days, aren't they?"

Teal'c raised an eyebrow and said nothing, conveying perfectly that he wished Daniel to elaborate.

"I mean, from what I remember of them before I ascended, they were always kind of … tense with each other. Friendly enough, but, they never really 'socialised'. It was always very professional between them."

"They are still professional."

"Oh, no, no, I know, that's not what I meant. I just mean that it seems like now – in addition to their professional relationship – they're also close friends in a way they never were before."

Teal'c turned to look at them, taking a deep breath. "Their friendship had been growing for some time before you ascended." He said after a moment.

Daniel's eyebrows rose as he looked at his friend. "Oh?"

"I believe something changed in their relationship, around the time that O'Neill was forced to kill Major Carter with a zatnikatel when she was taken over by the alien entity attempting to infiltrate the base computer system."

Daniel gaped at Teal'c. "Really? What do you think changed?"

"I am uncertain, but in retrospect I believe they reached an understanding in regards to their feelings for one another."

Daniel's head whipped back around to look at the pair at the bar. _Feelings … they have feelings for each other. Feelings they can't act on because of their military ranks and positions on SG-1._

"Maybe that's what I was trying to remember." He mused, not entirely convinced.

"We do not usually discuss it." Teal'c said, almost reproachfully.

"Right. Yeah."

* * *

Jack drummed his fingers on the bar while he and Sam waited on their drinks.

"Teal'c seems happier." Sam said.

"He's got his mojo back." Jack agreed. "I think spending some time with his kid and Bra'tac did him a lot of good. He's got his perspective back."

Sam nodded. "Sir … are you worried about Daniel?"

Jack blinked at the abrupt change of topic. "What? No. Should I be?"

"If he remembered Rya'c and Bra'tac being in that camp …" Sam raised her eyebrows significantly.

"Oh! _Oh_." He glanced at her, grimacing. "You think he's going to remember what I told him in Ba'al's pleasure-dome about our trip to the future."

"Aren't you worried it's at least a possibility?"

"If he remembers, he remembers." Jack said philosophically. "There's not a great deal we can do about it either way."

"He's not supposed to know." Sam persisted. "If he does remember, he's going to have a thousand questions, and he won't let it go until we tell him everything. It will mess up the timeline."

"What do you want me to do, Carter? I can't stop him remembering."

Sam sighed. "I know. I'm just worried about it."

"We'll keep an eye on him. Maybe his remembering Rya'c and Bra'tac was a one-off. He hasn't remembered anything else from being ascended in the months he's been back."

"I hope you're right." Sam said fervently.

The bartender deposited two beers, a diet coke and a ginger ale in front of them, and they carried them back to the table.

There was a moment of awkward silence as Jack and Sam looked nervously at Daniel, and Daniel and Teal'c looked at Jack and Sam a bit more intently than they usually would.

"What were you guys talking about?" Daniel asked Jack.

"Nothing. What were you two talking about?"

"Nothing."

Jack and Daniel stared at each other with narrowed eyes for a long moment.

Sam cleared her throat. "So Teal'c, how was your vacation?" She said, obviously trying to break the stalemate.

Teal'c smiled at her knowingly.

 _Carter's right_ , thought Jack. _Daniel doesn't know – he'd be peppering me with questions if he did._

 _We just need to hope he never remembers._


	11. Grace

**Season 7 Episode 13 – Grace**

 _ **Episode Summary:**_ _The Prometheus is attacked, and Sam finds herself marooned aboard the failing ship alone, with a serious concussion. She hallucinates as she works to fix the ship and save the crew, and herself. Meanwhile, SG-1 tries to find the missing ship, and Jack struggles emotionally with Sam being missing.  
 **Author's note:**_ _In my new version of Grace (as affected by the prior events in this timeline), Sam doesn't hallucinate Jacob – because that conversation becomes unnecessary – and her hallucination of Jack is quite different, as described herein. She still hallucinates Grace, although she opts to keep that to herself._

* * *

 _I'm going to kill him_ , thought Sam. _I'm actually going to kill him._

She was in quite possibly the most awkward situation of her adult life, trapped on a Ferris wheel with a charming man who was under the misguided impression that she was open to dating him.

 _Damn you, Mark Carter._

"I'm sure they'll have us down in no time at all." The smiley cop assured her.

"Let's hope."

"At least the kids aren't stuck up here too, so you don't need to worry about them."

"There's that." She agreed. No, Mark, Carol and their two adorable children had backed out of the Ferris wheel ride at the last moment – after Sam and Pete had already been herded onto it by her insistent brother. He'd had the audacity to _wink_ at her from the ground when she realised he'd left her alone with Pete.

 _He is so dead._

If it wasn't a step more conniving than she'd credit her brother with being, she would almost suspect him of having arranged for the Ferris wheel to stall with herself and Pete at the top.

"You're not afraid of heights are you?" He asked suddenly, looked concerned and putting a reassuring hand on her arm.

"I'm fine." She assured him. "I'm an Air Force pilot, remember?"

"Right." He clicked his fingers. "Very cool job, by the way. I'm actually a little intimidated."

Sam snorted with laughter. Usually guys were intimidated by her to the point that they didn't actively pursue her. It was just her luck that this one – who apparently had been promised by her brother that if he played his cards right he'd get a date – found some light intimidation to be charming.

"You're an inner-city police officer, I don't buy that you're intimidated by a pilot." She said.

" _Air Force_ pilot." He said. "That means you can fly planes _and_ know a hundred ways to kill me with your pinky."

She laughed again at the absurdity of that statement.

"Not to mention that you're brilliant and beautiful." He continued.

She tried not to cringe. He really was charming, and maybe in another life she could see herself being a tiny bit interested, but … her heart was already spoken for.

Might as well nip this in the bud.

"Look, Pete … I think my brother may have given you the wrong idea about me."

Pete looked taken aback. "Oh?"

"I'm not …" She floundered for the right words.

"Oh my God, you're gay."

This time it was Sam's turn to be taken aback. "What? No. _No_. I'm just not interested in dating anyone right now."

"Oh." Pete looked surprised, and very disappointed. She felt a bit sorry for him. "Well, I've got to say, I'm very sorry to hear that."

"Sorry." She said, awkwardly.

"Do you think that might change any time soon?" He asked hopefully.

"No. I know from an outside perspective I might _look_ single and available, but … I'm really not."

"There's a guy." Pete said in realisation.

Sam hesitated before answering … but what harm could it do to be just a little bit honest for once? "Yes." She said finally.

Pete let out a deep breath. "Ok. Well, that's that, then. I'm a little disappointed, I've got to say."

Sam smiled in sympathy. "I'm sorry if I gave you the wrong impression …"

"No, don't be, that was all Mark. It's the risk you take when you let your buddy set you up."

The Ferris wheel suddenly started moving again, with a jerk that set their carriage swinging and had Sam clinging to the guard rail. They crested the summit, and suddenly Sam could see her brother and his family waiting on the ground, looking up at them anxiously.

"Are you guys alright?" Mark yelled.

"We're fine." Pete yelled back.

They reached ground level, and were released with the profuse apologies of the funfair management.

They rejoined Sam's family, and the kids bounced around them asking questions excitedly for a few minutes. Sam looked up to find Mark and Pete having some sort of silent conversation that was so reminiscent of Jack and Daniel that she had to laugh.

"What?" Mark asked, affronted.

"Nothing." She chuckled. "Nice try, by the way."

"What?" Mark said again, this time trying and failing to sound innocent.

"If I need you to set me up, I'll ask." She said.

"She's not interested." Pete said, glaring at Mark a little.

Mark sighed and rolled his eyes, detaching himself from the group and taking Sam's arm to lead her a little way down the path.

"Sam, he's a really, _really_ great guy. He's good-looking, charming, funny … and he's a cop so he'd understand your crazy working hours."

"If he's so wonderful, _you_ date him." Sam said, somewhat childishly.

"What's the problem?" Mark asked. "Can you really afford to me that picky?"

Sam glared at him, outraged. "Piss off, Mark."

"Do you _want_ to spend your life alone, is that it?"

"What makes you think I haven't already found the man I want to spend the rest of my life with?"

Mark's eyebrows shot into his hairline. "Because I would have thought you'd have _told_ me if that was the case, being your brother and all."

Sam winced, wishing she hadn't said that. "It's a little complicated."

Mark rolled his eyes again. "What isn't, with you?"

Sam put her hand on his arm. "I appreciate you looking out for me. Really, I do. But in this particular instance it's not necessary. I'm not going to end up alone. Trust me on that."

Mark looked at her for a long moment. "Alright. But I expect to be introduced to this mystery guy at some point."

"It might be a few years." Sam warned.

Mark chuckled. "You're a nutjob."

She punched him lightly in the arm. "Jerk."

* * *

Sam's 'we're glad you didn't die' party, which had been postponed due to Daniel being unexpectedly drafted to assist another team off-world, took place after she got back from visiting Mark in California.

It was low key, just SG-1, Janet, and Cassie. And there was indeed cake.

Something was off, though. Jack was barely talking to her, and Daniel and Teal'c kept shooting her furtive looks. She briefly had the paranoid notion that somehow they'd found out about her being almost set up with Pete, but she dismissed the idea as ridiculous.

Eventually, when Janet and Cassie were absorbed playing monopoly against Teal'c and Jack was burning meat out on the grill, Daniel pulled her to one side.

"You need to talk to Jack." He said earnestly.

"About what?"

"He's in a mood."

 _No kidding._ "Yeah, I noticed."

"Sam, he's been in a mood since you went missing on the Prometheus."

Sam was reminded of the time Teal'c had summoned her in the middle of the night to talk to Jack, who had been beating the living crap out of some gym equipment after her near death experience with Nirrti. She'd wondered at the time whether Teal'c knew something he shouldn't. Now she was wondering the same about Daniel.

"Just go talk to him." Daniel insisted, and she let herself be propelled in the direction of the backyard.

She stood in the doorway for a moment, watching him curse as a plume of smoke erupted in his face.

"Hey." She said, walking over to him.

"Hey." He said back shortly, not looking at her.

She continued watching him for a moment. He still didn't look at her.

"What's going on?" She asked, opting to take the bull by the horns.

"I'm barbecuing." He said unhelpfully.

"You're angry." She countered.

"Barbecuing is a passionate sport." He retorted.

" _Sir._ "

He finally looked at her. He looked exhausted.

"What, Carter?"

"Why are you angry with me?" She asked.

He deflated a little. "I'm not angry with _you._ "

"Then, what, you're mad at the situation because I almost died again?" She guessed.

His mouth formed a thin line and he looked back at the burning meat. "Something like that." He admitted.

"Haven't we had this conversation before?" She said.

"And didn't we establish on that occasion that the best thing you can do is leave me alone to deal with it in peace?" He retorted angrily, eyes flashing at her.

She flinched as if he'd slapped her, and to her utter horror felt her eyes filling with tears. "Fine, I'll get out of your hair." She said, her voice cracking, and fled.

Daniel intercepted her as she barrelled back through the house, and she brushed away him and his questions, grabbing her keys and jacket at the front door.

If she didn't get out of there right now, she was going to burst into tears in front of all her friends, and that wasn't an option.

She got in her car, and drove.

* * *

Two hours and eight ignored phone messages later, Sam finally drove home.

His truck was outside her house, and she sighed resignedly as she pulled up behind it. He was sitting on her porch steps. At least he hadn't broken in this time.

She approached warily, and he looked up at her. "Hey." He said softly.

She glared at him for a moment. "Sir." She said shortly.

"I'm here to apologise." He said.

She walked past him up the steps, and unlocked her front door. She held it open for him, and he got up and followed her in.

"I'm sorry I lashed out at you. I didn't want you to leave."

Sam nodded, avoiding his gaze.

"I guess I'm not that great at handling it when you go missing, or get hurt, or nearly die."

"No, you're not." Sam agreed. She sighed then, looking upwards. "But neither am I."

"Daniel and Teal'c both twigged that I was losing my shit when you were missing." He admitted quietly.

 _Oh._

"Did they say something?" She asked.

"Daniel tried to give me a pep talk. Teal'c thought it would make me feel better to know how upset you were when I was missing on that moon with Maybourne." He said with a pained smile.

Sam winced. "Yeah. I may have sobbed on his shoulder like a little girl at one point."

Jack's eyebrows rose. "Well … I managed not to go that far."

Sam chuckled. "That's good to hear."

"Look, Sam, this has always been the hardest part of what we're doing. I just need a little time to get my head back on straight."

She sighed and nodded. "Ok."

"I'm sorry for ruining your party."

"Me too. I missed the cake."

Jack grinned. "I saved some for you."

"You guys still ate it after I stormed out?"

"No, I cut it up and gave chunks to Janet and the boys to take home. But I cut a bit for you, too."

Sam smiled.

"Hey, you'll never guess what happened to me in California." She said, smirking.

Jack raised his eyebrows.

"My brother tried to set me up on a blind date, and then trapped me on a Ferris wheel with the guy, which then broke down when we were at the top."

Jack's eyebrows rose even higher, if that was possible. "Sounds like the beginning of a movie." He said, picking an imaginary bit of lint of his sleeve.

"It was the most awkward situation I've ever been in." Sam assured him. "I ended up basically breaking up with this guy without ever having agreed to go on a date with him in the first place, 200 feet up in the air with no escape and no clue how long we'd be stuck up there together."

Jack chuckled. "Poor guy."

"Yeah. I blame my brother."

Jack smirked, and then looked at her thoughtfully.

"What?" She said, when the long look started to freak her out.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure …" she said slowly.

"In your mission report you said that you hallucinated us – me, Daniel, and Teal'c. What did we say?"

"Daniel and Teal'c were coming up with theories on what was happening and how I could fix it. You … you were mostly giving me a pep talk."

"Really?" He asked sceptically.

"Telling me to hang in there, that we'd win the war one day, not to give up, and go save my ass, that kind of thing." She met his eye ruefully. "You may also have kissed me."

Jack smirked. "You hallucinated me kissing you?"

"Don't worry, I deleted the camera footage before anyone could see it."

"I bet you looked pretty ridiculous, kissing thin air."

"More than you could possibly imagine." Sam groaned, burying her face in her hands.

Jack chuckled and stepped forward, gently taking hold of her wrists and pulling her hands away from her face. He was standing so close, and looking at her so intently, that she was convinced he was going to kiss her for real, and she stopped breathing.

"One day you'll have to tell me how the real thing compares." He said in a low voice that made her shiver.

Then he stepped back and released her wrists, leaving her feeling bereft.

"I should go." He said. "We'll do team night with the guys tomorrow. You can have your cake."

"Right." She said, feeling a little disoriented.

"See you, Carter."

"Bye … sir."


	12. Heroes

**Season 7 Episode 18 – Heroes pt 2**

 _Episode summary: Dr Janet Fraiser is killed in the line of duty by a jaffa's staff weapon, while tending to a wounded airman off-world. Jack is also hit, but thanks to a new armour insert in his vest, he survives._

* * *

The night Janet died, Sam slept in Cassie's bed, holding the orphaned eighteen year old through the night.

In the days and weeks that followed, Sam was proud beyond words of Cassie and the maturity and strength she showed in how she dealt with the blow, especially given her history. This was the third parent she'd lost in her short life.

Cassie was already in college, and insisted on going back much sooner than Sam thought she should. Jack convinced her to let the girl go – if Cassie felt that college was where she wanted to be, they should respect that. They would just keep in close contact with her, and make sure she always knew she could come home any time.

Of the five stages of grief, most people at the SGC spent longer than usual inhabiting the anger stage, because of the kind of person Janet had been. She was a doctor – her job was to help people, not fight them. That she should die in such a violent manner wasn't fair.

Sam felt that she'd gone through the stages of grief backwards. At first she'd been devastated and depressed, then she'd gone through bargaining, imagining a hundred different ways she could have prevented it, and then she uncharacteristically got stuck in the anger phase. Weeks after the event, her temper was like a high-wire act. The slightest thing could make her want to throw something across the room. She could tell her team had noticed and were trying to give her some space to work it out, but eventually she snapped one too many times, yelling at Sgt Harriman in the control room, and landing herself in General Hammond's office for a dressing down.

Humiliated, she went home that night with every intention of quickly drowning her sorrows in a bottle of scotch and then passing out in her bed.

Unfortunately, her CO had other ideas.

She supposed she shouldn't have been surprised that Jack would want to talk to her after her meltdown in the control room. He probably wanted to follow General Hammond's lead and give her the 'What the hell were you thinking, pull yourself together' speech.

He was leaning against her house by the door, and she just walked up to him and stopped, presenting herself wordlessly for the inevitable reprimand.

"Are you going to let me in?" He asked, instead of the yelling she'd been expecting. She blinked.

"Uh, sure." She said, reaching past him to put the key in the lock.

Inside, he went straight to her kitchen and fished around in her cupboards for the bottle of scotch she'd been planning on drinking. He poured them both a glass, and handed her one, before leading her into her own living room and settling himself on her couch.

She sat down apprehensively, watching him. He still wasn't yelling. It was starting to freak her out.

"What's going on?" He asked eventually. His tone of voice had been gentle, and almost solicitous – the furthest thing from the yelling of an angry CO.

She took a sip of her drink to stall for time, feeling the burn of the liquid as it slid down her throat.

"I yelled at Walter." She said.

"I know."

"He didn't deserve it."

"No."

"I've been snapping at other people too."

Jack just raised his eyebrows, waiting for her to answer his original question. She sighed.

"I'm angry." She admitted. "All the time."

"Because Janet died." He supplied.

"No." She said, shaking her head.

Jack looked a little stunned. " _No_?"

"I mean, yes, I was angry about how she died, it was so … so _wrong_. But that's not why I'm still angry now."

Jack watched her for a long moment. "So …" he prodded when she didn't explain.

"Janet died." Sam said. "My best friend _died_ , and … and I could have stopped it and I chose _not to._ Which means all the pain and the hurt that Cassie has been through and is still going through right now is on me."

Jack looked thoroughly confused. "Carter … you weren't there. You were with me. You couldn't have stopped that jaffa from shooting her."

Sam shook her head angrily. "That's not what I mean! Jack, we went to the future, and we met _me_. General Samantha Carter knows exactly what happened to Janet, and she … and _I_ didn't warn us! She didn't say a word, even though by telling us she could have saved Janet. She's me, which means _I_ made that decision. _I_ decided not to save Janet."

Jack had stood and moved to crouch in front of Sam, taking hold of her forearms. "Sam, stop it. You can't do that to yourself. _You_ aren't responsible for this. And you _know_ that General Carter couldn't warn us or she'd have messed up the timeline. For all we know if she'd said anything, it could have caused some kind of awful chain reaction that ended the world, or something."

Sam started to cry. She knew Jack was right. She'd tried to rationalise it that way a hundred times in the last few weeks. But she couldn't forgive herself.

Jack pulled her into a hug and just held her while she cried. It felt like a release, finally admitting what she'd been feeling and letting herself cry on someone's shoulder about it. Rather than calming down though, she was getting more worked up, and Jack started rubbing soothing circles on her back and telling her to breathe in and out slowly before she passed out from hyperventilating.

She forced herself to focus on his voice and follow his orders, and eventually she was breathing normally again, her head rested on his shoulder and her arms around his neck with tears still falling from her eyes to dampen his shirt.

"Are you feeling any better?" He asked eventually.

She shrugged. "Maybe. I don't know."

Jack pulled back, and she wiped at her eyes, embarrassed at how completely she'd broken down.

"You should have talked to me about this sooner." He said.

She nodded. She knew that. She'd just been too ashamed to admit it.

Jack patted her hand. "Ok, here's the plan. Go wash your face. I'm going to order a pizza. We'll eat some food, watch a crappy movie, and then you're going to take a sleeping pill and get a good night's sleep. And I'm withdrawing your drinking privileges." He said, confiscating her barely-touched scotch.

"You're the one who poured me that in the first place." She argued.

"And now I'm the one who's going to drink it." He said. He gave her a sad smile. "Go on. Do what I say, and I promise you'll feel better in the morning."

She nodded reluctantly and stood, heading off to the bathroom to wash her face while he ordered them some dinner and chose a movie on pay-per-view. She looked at her reflection in the mirror, her face blotchy and red from crying, and for the first time in weeks she didn't see General Carter staring back.

Maybe she wouldn't feel better in the morning, but at least it was a step in the right direction.


	13. Lost City - Part One

**Season 7 Episode 21 – Lost City Part One**

 _ **Episode summary:**_ _SG-1 find a repository of Ancient knowledge, and plan to try to extract it for study. However, their position is compromised, and they have to destroy it to prevent it falling into Goa'uld hands … but Daniel says they can't just let it go, and Jack downloads the knowledge into his mind once again._

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ _I've used a couple of lines of the original episode dialogue in this. I am in no way claiming this as my own._

 _ **Author's note:**_ _This is an alternative to the scene when she goes to his house to talk to him about what he has done, because obviously Sam wouldn't be quite so circumspect about it in my new timeline. In fact … she's pissed._

* * *

Jack jumped when there was suddenly a pounding on his door.

Not knocking. _Pounding._

"Alright, alright …"

He opened it cautiously, not at all surprised to see his 5 foot 9, blonde visitor.

She glared daggers at him and pushed past him into the house, and his eyebrows shot up; she had a right to be pissed at him, but still … Carter didn't usually resort to blatant insubordination.

"Do come in." He said to her retreating back, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"What the hell did you do?" She asked in a monotone, her voice shaking with the effort of controlling her emotions.

"Carter, take it easy. It's going to be fine."

"No. Don't you dare use that excuse. You can't just throw your life away and expect that it will all turn out fine. This time you crossed the line."

"You think I screwed up the timeline?" Jack asked incredulously. "This is the one time I'm actually certain I didn't. I hesitated before I did it because I was worried about the timeline, but I realised that if I didn't know about all that future crap, I would absolutely have done it. I'm certain."

"What if you were supposed to hesitate because of your knowledge of the future _and then not do it_?" She asked furiously.

"Wouldn't that be a paradox?" Jack asked.

"How are we going to fix this?" She asked, almost hysterical. "The Asgard almost never respond when we try to contact them, and when they do they're usually late. You've only got _days_."

Jack walked the few steps to reach her and put his hands on her shoulders, pleased when she didn't back away or shrug him off. "Sam, breathe. We've been in worse situations than this. You have to trust that we'll figure this one out too."

Sam closed her eyes briefly, visibly calming down, but when she looked at him again she was still glaring with fire flashing in her blue eyes.

"Maybe when you get access to the Ancient knowledge you'll come up with a way to save yourself." She suggested with a sigh.

Jack forced a smile, and patted her shoulder before releasing her. "There you go. Think positive."

Sam sighed again and sat down on his couch. "I could murder Daniel."

Jack blinked. "Why?"

"This is his fault, if he hadn't been so passionate about getting access to the knowledge that he was ready to stick his own head in that thing …"

"It's Daniel, it's in his DNA. Of _course_ he wanted the Ancient knowledge." Jack sat down next to her. "I just hope it's worth it."

Sam looked at him sharply, shaking her head. "Even if we do find the Lost City … even if we get there and find exactly what we're looking for to defend the planet –"

"That … would be worth it." Jack cut her off.

She shook her head, looking crushed. "Not to me."

He held her gaze for a long moment, wondering not for the first time why she valued him of all people so highly.

"It's going to be fine." He said again. "Just trust me."

She sighed and sat back next to him, sinking into the cushions. "So what now?"

"Now, I'm going to drink a lot of beer, and watch a hockey game I recorded a week ago and haven't had the time to watch yet." He cocked his head at her. "Want to stick around and join me?"

She smiled a little. "Sure."


	14. Lost City - Part Two

**Season 7 Episode 22 – Lost City Part Two**

 _ **Episode summary:**_ _Earth is in danger from Anubis' fleet. SG-1 travel to Proclarush Taonas, hoping it is the Lost City and will have technology that could defend Earth. On the way there, Sam informs Jack that Hammond authorised her to take command – Jack verbally resigns and hands over command. They discover the Lost City is back on Earth, take a ZPM, and head back to Earth, to Antarctica, where Jack starts drilling through the ice with a beam weapon he created. Anubis attacks and the Prometheus and X302s defend them. They go down into the Ancient outpost and Jack uses a powerful new weapon to destroy Anubis' fleet. Jack is close to death, and SG-1 have to leave him in stasis to preserve his life._

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ _I've used a few lines of the original episode dialogue in this. I am in no way claiming this as my own._

 _ **Author's note:**_ _There are two parts to this tag. The first, an alternate version of the conversation between Sam and Jack when she takes over command aboard the cargo ship. The second, the aftermath of the episode._

* * *

[In the episode, Jack has just altered the cargo ship's engines to make them go faster, and he and Sam are alone in the engine room …]

Sam looked at Jack, feeling a little awkward but knowing that they needed to have this conversation before he was too far gone.

"Sir … I think you should know that General Hammond authorised me to take command of the team if I determined –"

"Do it now."

"Sir, I don't think that's necessary."

"I trust you." He said. "I'll make it easy for you. I resign. You're in charge." He said with a hint of a smile.

Sam's mouth dropped open a little bit. They looked at each other for a long moment in the pulsing light of the engines. Sam took a step towards him. _I resign_ , he had said. No more Air Force. No more regulations. True, she probably still shouldn't be thinking about him romantically while he was effectively under her command, but –

He kissed her.

She made a little noise of surprise, and his hands were suddenly cupping her face, and he was _kissing_ her, intently. Her arms wove around his neck and she kissed him back, tears forming in her eyes.

He pulled back, and she looked at him. His eyes were impossibly dark.

He went to say something, but he winced when it seemed the words wouldn't come out. He smiled at her ruefully instead, and she smiled back. He kissed her forehead affectionately, and together they went back to the ship's cockpit, hearts a little lighter.

* * *

[After the episode …]

Orders had been relayed by radio, a team had come down from the Prometheus to secure the outpost, and SG-1 had to leave Jack down there, frozen in stasis.

Sam steadfastly avoided Teal'c and Daniel's eyes, but she could feel them watching her. She put her military face on, hiding behind a mask of professionalism.

The rendezvous point was McMurdo. Bra'tac landed their cargo ship there, and they met General Hammond inside, who was co-ordinating the aftermath of the battle. It was busy – many of the X302s had gone down, and search and rescue teams had been deployed to find the missing pilots.

They were transferred onto the Prometheus, Bra'tac included. They would be heading to the SGC, but they would wait to take any wounded X302 pilots with them, being the fastest method of transporting them for treatment.

They commandeered the ship's briefing room, and settled in to wait. Sam could still feel her team mates' eyes on her. Bra'tac struck up a conversation with Teal'c, and Sam turned her swivel chair away from them all and closed her eyes.

 _He's ok._ She told herself. _We'll get in contact with the Asgard eventually, and they can take the Ancient knowledge out of his head. He'll be ok._

Daniel – who never seemed to have developed the skill of understanding when a person wanted to be left alone – scooted over to her in his wheeled chair.

"Are you ok?" He asked sympathetically.

"I'm fine." She said stoically.

Daniel huffed a little. "The Asgard can fix him." He said.

"I know."

There was a long moment of silence when Daniel just stared at her. She lost her patience.

" _What_?"

"Sam … look, we don't talk about this, but I know you and Jack have this … thing. And if you ever wanted to talk …"

Sam shook her head and waved a hand to make him stop. "Daniel, just leave it alone. I'm fine."

He looked at her sadly, and she felt a little bad for pushing him away.

"I'm sorry." She said.

He squeezed her shoulder. "It's ok." He wheeled back to the table, joining the jaffa's conversation, and she took a deep breath, closing her eyes once more.

* * *

Hours, or maybe days, later – she'd long since lost track – SG-1 were dismissed and headed home for some sleep. It was the middle of the day, bright sunshine bearing down on her.

She drove to Jack's house, and sat in the driveway in her car for twenty minutes before starting the engine and driving away. There was nothing in there for her now.

At home, she took a handful of mail into the kitchen, and opened it methodically, feeling numb. Until, that is, she noticed the envelope with her address written in Jack's handwriting. She stared at it for a moment. The date stamp was Saturday – the day after she'd stormed into his house to yell at him. She opened it hurriedly, ripping the envelope open.

Inside were two bits of paper. The first, a printed copy of the photograph of Beth, Jake and Serena. The second, a small scrap of paper with eight numbers written in Jack's handwriting, and nothing else.

 _What the hell?_

She stared at those eight digits, wondering what on earth he was trying to tell her. Eight digits. It wasn't a date. It wasn't a gate address. It wasn't any sort of code that she could fathom.

She looked at the printed copy of the photograph again. Why would he send this? He'd given her a copy already, over a year ago.

Maybe it was meant as a clue.

She thought about the original photograph. It was locked away in Jack's wall-safe. She shook her head, thinking they'd better find the Asgard and get Jack back, or she was going to have to improve her lock-picking skills quite dramatically to get into that thing.

Wait.

Eight numbers. Wall-safe. It couldn't be the combination to the safe, could it?

She put both bits of paper in her purse, and grabbed her keys, heading back out the door. Ten minutes later she was back at Jack's house. She let herself in with her key, and went straight to the living room, pulling the couch away from the wall, and opening the little cupboard. There was the safe, and it _was_ a digital combination lock.

She got out the bit of paper, and keyed in the eight numbers carefully. There was a subtle click, and she swung the door open, grinning. Why he couldn't have just told her the combination in person, she didn't know, but still, it felt good to have solved the puzzle.

Inside the safe were two things. The original photograph, and another envelope. She took out the envelope curiously. She felt a little weird, snooping through Jack's safe, but she supposed if he hadn't wanted her to he wouldn't have mailed her the code.

The envelope wasn't sealed, and had her name written on the front. She pulled out the piece of paper inside. It was Jack's handwriting again.

 _I'll be back. Trust me.  
P.S. Remember that jewellery shop you sent me to on Cassie's 16_ _th_ _? Look what I found._

She stared at the paper, trying to figure out what he meant. There was nothing else in the safe. She felt something shift in the envelope as she stood up though, and she took a closer look inside.

It was a ring. It was _the_ ring. The ring General Samantha Carter had worn on her left ring finger in 2034. It was her engagement ring.

She sat down and stared at it, completely stunned. Jack had found her ring. Jack had _bought_ her ring. More than two years ago. All this time Jack had had an engagement ring intended for _her_ sitting in his safe.

She put it back in the safe, with the photograph, and stowed the note and the envelope back in her purse. Her hands were shaking.

 _He's coming back. I'll get him back. I have to._

* * *

 _ **Author's note:**_ _If you have the DVDs, I highly recommend watching the commentary for Lost City with Robert C Cooper, Martin Wood and Amanda Tapping, if you haven't already. Apparently Lost City was originally intended – and scripted – as a feature film to end SG-1 as a series, and in the original script Sam was supposed to kiss Jack when he resigned in the cargo ship's engine room. Squee ….! It's also a very interesting watch for a host of other reasons._


	15. New Order

**Season 8 Episodes 1 & 2 – New Order**

 _ **Episode summary:**_ _Sam and Teal'c take the modified cargo ship to try and contact Thor, theorising that he would be monitoring the time dilation field trapping the replicators on Hala. They discover that Hala's sun has collapsed into a black hole, and their ship is destroyed, although Thor beams them out at the last second. The replicators escape the time dilation field as a ship, and some replicators manage to board Thor's ship. Sam and Teal'c go to fight them, but Sam is beamed away. She finds herself in a small cell composed of replicator blocks, and Fifth appears through the wall. He is angry for her betrayal of him in 'Unnatural Selection', and tortures her. Teal'c and Thor witness the replicator ship – which they believe Sam is aboard – being destroyed by Asgard forces when it emerges into the solar system of the new Asgard homeworld. Replicator blocks rain down on the planet, and Thor and Teal'c go back to Earth to collect Daniel and Jack, hoping the Ancient knowledge in Jack's mind can help. Jack builds a weapon to kill replicators, and is then revived without the Ancient knowledge. An inactive human form replicator is beamed aboard for study, and they discover Sam is alive while probing its neural link. It revives, and Jack kills it with the new gun. Thor beams them down to the planet, and they fight the replicators trying to escape before Thor can target the whole planet with the anti-replicator technology Jack just invented. Some replicators escape in a ship. Sam is found in the woods.  
 **Author's note:**_ _That was a really long summary, but even so I left loads out, including all the stuff with Daniel and Weir. You've seen the episode, you know what happens. The only difference is, in my version, replace Pete and the Montana farm with Jack and the Minnesota cabin._

* * *

"Do you think you can stand?" Jack asked her.

She nodded stiffly, and Teal'c helped her up, practically lifting her to her feet. She swayed a little as a wave of dizziness caught her. _God, my head hurts._

"Ok?" Jack checked, as Teal'c held her steady.

She nodded again.

"Thor, we found Carter, she's ok. Can you beam us back to the ship?" Jack asked, speaking into an Asgard communicator.

Sam wanted to protest. It was too fast … _is this even real? Wasn't Jack in a stasis pod in Antarctica?_

Before she had too much time to think about it, there was a flash and she was back on Thor's ship. The little Asgard walked straight up to her.

"I am extremely glad to see you alive, Major Carter." He said earnestly.

She blinked. _Alive?_ She looked at her team mates in confusion, and there was a moment in which they all exchanged dark and significant looks that made her shiver.

"We believed you had perished when the replicators' ship was destroyed upon entering this solar system." Teal'c explained. "We were most relieved to find that this was not the case."

She looked at Jack. She still couldn't tell. Not for certain.

"Sam, are you ok?" Daniel asked, looking concerned. He reached out to touch her arm and she flinched away.

"I'm fine." She said.

Daniel withdrew his hand, looking even more concerned.

"What did Fifth do?" Jack asked gently.

Sam took a deep breath, trying to settle the butterflies in her stomach. "You know, the usual. The hand-in-the-head thing." She said evasively. "Did Thor …?" She gestured vaguely at Jack's head.

"The Ancient knowledge is gone from O'Neill's mind." Thor said. "He is as he was before."

"Lucky us." Daniel said, beaming sarcastically. Jack scowled at him briefly before turning his attention back to Sam.

"Headache?" He guessed.

"Like a nail in the head." She said with a rueful smile.

"Thor, do you think you could drop us back on Earth?"

"Wait, where are the replicators?" Sam asked.

"They left the planet." Daniel said. "Jack's new weapon scared them off."

"And Fifth?" She asked.

"He escaped with them."

Sam closed her eyes briefly and leaned back against the wall tiredly. She was definitely leaning towards believing this was real. Massive headache, and Fifth escaped. Not exactly winning fantasy material.

"We'll get him next time." Jack said reassuringly.

 _Sure._

"I will return you to Earth." Thor said, going back to his control console. "And I must thank you all for your assistance in protecting my world."

"You bet." Jack said.

There was a jarring feeling as they jumped into hyperspace at the Asgard ship's mind-boggling speed. The guys moved away from her to pack up the crates of ordnance that had come from the cargo ship she and Teal'c had piloted, before it was torn apart by the black hole. She saw them cluster together and have a quick muttered discussion, no doubt about her. _Yup,_ she thought. _Definitely real._

She didn't know what to do with herself. She didn't know where she fit. Should she be talking to Thor? Helping the guys? Probably. But she didn't feel like one of them right now.

"Carter." Jack called to her, and she looked at him. "Come sit down."

She joined him and sat on a closed crate beside him, Teal'c and Daniel perching opposite on crates of their own.

They were all looking at her. She could feel their eyes like insects crawling on her skin.

"Will you all stop staring at me please?" She snapped.

Teal'c and Daniel looked away at once, abashed. Jack didn't. "We're just worried about you." He said. "You're not acting like yourself."

"I'm fine." She sounded unconvincing even to her own ears.

Jack sighed. "You don't have to do that."

She stood up, and wavered for a second as the action made her head spin. "I'm going for a walk." She said, and took off in the direction of the door.

She was mildly surprised that Jack didn't argue.

* * *

"She is _not_ fine." Daniel said emphatically the moment Sam was out of earshot.

"No." Jack said, his heart feeling like a lead weight in his chest. "She's not."

"Fifth was most likely extremely angry with her for leaving him behind in the time dilation field." Teal'c speculated.

Jack nodded. "She was the one who promised him we'd take him with us and then programmed the timer so he wouldn't have enough time to get out. It wasn't her fault though, I ordered her to do it."

"I do not believe that would matter to one such as Fifth."

"No. Probably not."

"Do you think he hurt her?" Daniel asked.

Jack winced. "The human-form replicators do this thing where they stick their hand in your head and make you see your own past. It sucks, and it hurts like hell afterwards."

"On the Asgard homeworld, the human-form replicators were only trying to learn about us." Teal'c said.

"So what would it be like if they were _trying_ to hurt you?" Daniel asked.

There was a moment of silence. The truth was they really had no idea what Fifth may have been capable of doing to Sam.

* * *

Sam paced back and forth, her arms wrapped tight around her body, trying to get a handle on her nerves. She was almost completely certain – most of the time – that this wasn't another one of Fifth's virtual realities. This was real. She was free. Fifth wasn't in her head anymore.

She hated, with a rage that consumed her, the fact that Fifth had used her feelings for Jack against her. He had constructed a false reality where the two of them were up at Jack's cabin in Minnesota, and he had pretended to be Jack himself.

It hadn't taken her long to see through it. Despite having access to all of her memories of Jack, the replicator couldn't pull off Jack's mannerisms, or his nature; not well enough to trick her. The cabin was a give-away too. She'd never seen the real cabin herself, but Fifth's construction of it was based on how she had always imagined it in her head.

When Sam had confronted him, Fifth – wearing Jack's face – had got mad, and a little violent. It was going to be a while before she was fully comfortable around Jack again, and that was the wound that hurt the most.

Not that the torture alone hadn't given her enough nightmare fuel to last a lifetime.

She jumped when the man himself came around the corner. She hadn't heard him coming. _Shouldn't I have heard him coming?_

"Hey Carter." Jack said, moving cautiously as though trying not to scare a wounded animal.

"Sir."

"Thor says we'll be there in a few minutes."

Sam nodded.

"You're gonna be ok." Jack said soothingly.

She felt a stab of pain, and glared at him. _How would he know?_

He approached her, slowly. She knew, in her heart, that he just wanted to comfort her, but she couldn't make herself read the action as anything other than aggression. She managed to hold her ground until he was a couple of steps away, and then compulsively stepped back, away from him, panicking. He looked hurt.

"Sam …"

"I'm sorry, I can't." She let out a single sob, and bent over, trying to catch her breath.

He crouched down – knees be damned, apparently – and spoke to her softly, soothingly.

"Easy Carter. It's ok, I'm not going to come any closer if you don't want me to. But I'm not going to leave you alone either. You're not alone."

She fought to get control of her breathing again, and then looked at him. "I'll deal with this, sir. I can deal with it, I'll be alright."

She wondered who she was trying to convince, Jack or herself.

"I know you will." He said, with a soft smile. "And you know you will, too. 2034, remember?"

She chuckled, the last edge of her previous panic colouring the sound. "2034, right. General Carter hadn't completely lost the plot, so I won't either." That was comforting, actually.

"Right." Jack winced, shifting to adjust his crouched posture down on the ground.

Sam felt a rush of annoyance at them both for having allowed him to assume that position in the first place, and rolled her eyes. "For God's sake, Jack, get up, you'll ruin what's left of your knees." She said, closing the gap between them and giving him a hand up.

Jack took her hand tentatively and regained his feet, holding her gaze, assessing warily. She guessed she was acting like a bit of a head case, going from panicking at the sight of him to calling him Jack and fussing over his knees in the space of a handful of minutes.

"It's ok, I'm feeling better now." Sam said. She was, too; the panic had subsided. Talking to him had helped. Fifth hadn't been able to perfectly imitate Jack. Jack, talking _like_ Jack, helped ground her in the reality that he wasn't a replicator about to stick his hand back in her head for another round of torture.

 _God, my life is weird._

* * *

Jack watched Sam out of the corner of his eye as they walked back through the Asgard ship.

She'd scared him, backing away from him before with fear in her eyes. What the hell had that monster done to her that would make her afraid of _him?_

They entered Thor's bridge again, and Daniel stood up, raising his eyebrows in silent question. Jack gave a complicated mix of shrug, head shake and grimace that he knew Daniel would interpret correctly as 'No, she's not alright, no, I don't know what Fifth did to her, but at least she's here with us again.'

Sam hovered uncertainly at his side. He could see in the tension in her upper body; her nerves were building again.

"Thor?" He asked, raising his voice in the Asgard's direction.

"A moment longer, O'Neill."

Daniel approached Sam, ignoring Jack's glare and shake of the head telling him to keep his distance.

"How are you doing?" He asked her.

Sam shrugged awkwardly. At least she didn't say she was fine, this time. He noticed she didn't back away from Daniel, either, although Daniel had got a lot closer to her than Jack had managed to before she panicked, back in the bowels of the ship.

Teal'c joined them too, and they stood in a loose little circle.

"Did anyone record the Simpsons for me while I was gone?" Jack asked, to lighten the mood.

The ship gave the disconcerting buzz that indicated extreme deceleration, and Earth loomed large in the view screens.

"We have arrived." Thor announced, somewhat unnecessarily.

"Nice to see it's still in once piece." Daniel commented. Jack looked at him questioningly, and Daniel shook his head. "We had some system lord issues … I'll explain later."

"Are you prepared for transport?" Thor asked.

"I think so." Jack said, glancing at Daniel and Teal'c who nodded, and then at Sam. She took a deep breath and folded her arms before nodding as well.

"We're ready. And Thor – _thank you_." He said sincerely.

"You have given the Asgard a great weapon to aid in our war with the replicators. I consider myself very much in your debt, O'Neill."

Jack gave a half smile, and clapped his hands together. "Ok then. So –"

As per usual, the Asgard transport took him completely by surprise. He swore Thor did that on purpose.

They were in the gate-room. The airmen on duty had trained weapons on them in surprise, before lowering them again when they saw who it was.

"Doctor Weir to the gate room." Sergeant Harriman's voice echoed over the intercom.

Jack looked to Sam, to check how she was handling the change in venue. She looked tense, but ok.

He coughed, breaking the silence. "Not exactly the 'welcome home' I'd been hoping for …"

The gate room door slid open, and Dr Weir trotted towards them in her suit and heels. "Colonel O'Neill! It's good to see you. Major, I take it your mission was a success?"

Sam looked flummoxed, and Jack spoke up to spare her. "Oh yes, very successful. Thor sucked all the Ancient knowledge out of my brain. There's plenty of room for cobwebs again."

Dr Weir smiled. "And the cargo ship?"

"It was unfortunately destroyed by a black hole at our destination." Teal'c said.

Dr Weir's mouth dropped open. "A black hole?"

"It's all a bit of a long story." Jack said. "Perhaps we should save it for the debriefing?"

"Of course, I'll have one scheduled as soon as possible. In the meantime, Colonel, you should go get checked out in the infirmary."

"We all will." He said.

"Actually, Dr Jackson, if you wouldn't mind …" Dr Weir started hopefully.

"Yes. Jack, I need to –"

"Go." He said, dismissing the archaeologist with a wave of his hand.

The two doctors headed out one door, and Jack led Sam and Teal'c out the other.

"System lords?" He said, hoping one of them could fill him in as they waited for the elevator.

"I am as in the dark as you." Teal'c answered.

"Guess that can wait for the debriefing too." He said.

The elevator arrived, and he followed Teal'c in … but Sam didn't.

"Carter? Are you coming?"

She was standing completely still, looking at the interior of the elevator apprehensively.

"Yes sir." She said eventually. She walked in stiffly and stood ramrod straight at the front of the elevator.

Jack exchanged a concerned look with Teal'c. Was she claustrophobic now or something?

It was a short ride to the infirmary level, and Sam seemed to relax a little when the doors slid open again. Jack frowned. He'd have to keep an eye on that.

He felt the familiar pang of dulled grief when they were met in the infirmary by the base CMO Dr Brightman, and not Janet Fraiser. The doctor ordered a slew of tests for him, and gave him her undivided attention. Protesting that she should check out Carter first hadn't worked.

He felt like a human pin cushion, or maybe someone's disgruntled lab experiment, by the time she'd finished. He found Carter waiting for him.

"All clear?" She asked.

"Apparently I'm 100% me. No added Ancient." He quipped, and after a beat of hesitation she smiled in amusement. That was better.

"Has someone checked you out yet?"

Sam nodded. "Dr Warner gave me some aspirin for the headache."

Jack huffed. "Tell me that's not the extent of his proposed course of treatment."

"He's not insisting I see a shrink, if that's what you're asking."

Jack bit back the urge to say something along the lines of 'Why the hell not?', and resolved to have a chat with Doc Brightman later. As much as Sam might hate him for it, he was going to make sure she had a few sessions with the base counsellor.

"Where's Teal'c?" He asked.

She nodded towards the opposite side of the infirmary, where Dr Warner was still giving Teal'c his post-mission physical.

"I'm gonna go hit the showers." Sam said. "I was just waiting to make sure you were definitely back to normal, first."

Jack nodded. "I'll come with. I could use a shower myself."

* * *

The elevator was a little easier the second time.

The first time, when the little metal box had presented itself to her, she'd had a flashback of Fifth's cell constructed from replicator blocks. The room he'd tortured her in, where he would just materialise through a wall without warning. The sealed metal box with no windows, no doors – no escape.

She'd never been claustrophobic in her life. She didn't intend to start now.

She stood next to Jack in the elevator, watching the floor numbers count down. "We could have taken the stairs." He said.

 _Damn. He noticed._

"It's fine, sir." She said, glad that her voice sounded calm and even.

He seemed reassured, and stopped giving her surreptitious glances every few seconds.

The doors opened on the locker room level, and she was pleased that she didn't feel the urge to run from the elevator this time. They walked together, and reached the men's door first.

Jack gave her a stilted wave and disappeared into it, and she walked alone down the rest of the corridor to the women's locker room.

It was empty, for which she was very grateful, and she set about showering. It felt great – the cargo ship's facilities had been far from satisfactory, and she wasn't even sure how long she'd spent sweating from the stress of torture on Fifth's ship. Feeling clean was fantastic.

Afterwards, wrapped in a towel, she stood in front of a mirror to comb her hair. She looked at her reflection in the mirror, and her mind jumped – for a moment she was in the fake cabin, looking at her long-haired reflection in the bedroom mirror, and Fifth was looking over her shoulder.

The comb clattered to the ground, breaking the spell, and she backed away from the mirror quickly, dropping to the locker room bench, breathing hard.

"Oh God …" She whispered, blinking away tears.

 _It's PTSD_ , she thought. _I've dealt with it before. I can do it again. I will._

She took some deep, measured breaths, and picked up the comb again.

She didn't look in the mirror this time.

* * *

Jack handed Daniel a fresh beer, and sat down heavily in his favourite chair. Sam and Daniel occupied the couch and Teal'c had the other armchair. Team night.

Sam seemed like she was doing better. She was still quiet, and didn't smile much, but she wasn't flinching away from them, or having panic attacks, which was something. She hadn't shown any apprehension towards being near him since that incident on Thor's ship, and she'd barely seemed bothered by the long elevator ride to the surface.

Right now she was curled up on the couch with her legs under her, mostly facing Daniel, who was describing something animatedly. He wasn't sure what – he hadn't been paying attention.

He sat and just watched her for a while, revelling in the fact that she was alive, and would be ok. Then her blue eyed-gaze shifted from Daniel to him. He smiled subtly, but something was wrong. Her body tensed, and her expression closed off as she stared at him.

She stood suddenly and ran from the room.

"Damn it." He muttered, standing too.

"What just happened?" Daniel asked, perplexed.

"I've got it." He said, and followed Sam's path down the hallway.

He found her sitting on the edge of his bath, gripping the sides with white knuckles. He stopped a few steps back from the doorway, making sure not to block her escape route.

"Carter?" He said softly.

She didn't look at him, but started talking in a low voice. "He pretended to be you. He wanted revenge, and he tortured me for so long … and then he changed, and he built this fantasy world inside my head. He tried to make me believe that it was several years in the future and you and I were together, at your cabin in Minnesota, only it wasn't you, it was him."

Jack could have sworn his heart skipped several beats. _Oh God …._

"Sometimes when I look at you, I panic and think I'm back in Fifth's fantasy, and it's just him messing with my head."

He didn't know what to say. "Oh, Carter …"

She looked at him then, and took a deep breath. "It helps to talk to you. He wasn't very good at imitating your personality."

"Well, I do pride myself on my unique sense of humour." He said lightly.

She chuckled. "It _is_ one of your more endearing qualities."

He grew serious again then. "What other symptoms have you been getting?" He asked.

"PTSD?" She asked. He nodded. "So far, a few flashbacks and panic attacks. I expect there'll be some nightmares too."

"What was that thing with the elevator?"

She hesitated before answering. "It reminded me of the cell on Fifth's ship."

Jack nodded, looking at her contemplatively. "You're going to need to talk to someone."

She scowled and looked away. "I don't want to talk to a shrink."

"At the very least you'll need to have an evaluation in order to get cleared for active duty." Jack reasoned. "As for the rest … you need to talk to someone. I don't mind whether that's a shrink or me or Daniel or Teal'c. But you shouldn't try and muscle through this on your own."

Sam closed her eyes, and cocked her head to one side, clearly trying not to cry. He ached with the urge to go and hug her.

"I hate this." She said.

"I know."

"And I _really_ hate that he made me have this reaction to you."

 _Not as much as I do,_ Jack thought. He watched her take some deep breaths and wrestle her emotions back under control, wishing there was something he could say or do to make it better.

"I got your letter." She said suddenly after the long moments of silence, and Jack's eyes widened. He'd forgotten, in the chaos since being revived on Thor's ship.

"With the picture and the numbers?" He checked.

She smiled a little. "It was cryptic."

"Did you figure it out?"

"It was your safe combination." She said softly. He looked at her, trying to tell whether she'd found the ring, as her expression melted slowly into a soft, secret smile, with a twinkle back in her eyes that he hadn't seen since before he went Ancient.

"And?" He prompted.

"I went snooping." She said. "I can't believe you found it two and a half years ago."

"I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it." Jack said. "I completely confused myself trying to figure out if it would be a timeline-breaking paradox if I were to buy it just because I'd seen it in the future."

Sam laughed. "I imagine that's not a common reason for a man to second-guess buying an engagement ring."

"I would imagine not, no." He smiled at her. "I'll ask you one day. When I'm allowed."

She stood up, walking towards him, stopping inches away. "Then I'll say yes one day. When I'm allowed."

God, he wanted to kiss her. He remembered the kiss they'd shared on the cargo ship after he'd resigned, _very_ fondly.

"I'll look forward to it."

* * *

Jack was bored. Apparently being a General required a lot of mingling, and the reception with cake that he'd arranged in the SGC's mess had backfired massively.

He resisted the urge to look at his watch again, as his current mingle-ee droned on.

"I'm so sorry to interrupt." _Carter! Yes, Carter you angel, please interrupt!_ " _General_ , you have an urgent call."

He saw the sparkle in her eyes when she used his brand spanking new rank, all of two hours and twenty-three minutes old.

"Please excuse me." He said smoothly to whomever it was who'd been talking at him, and eagerly followed Carter out of the mess.

"Who's on the phone?" He asked as the doors swung closed behind him.

"No one." She confessed, turning to face him. "Daniel and I thought you could use a break."

" _Thank you_." He said emphatically. "Being promoted has totally ruined parties with cake for me."

Sam chuckled. "Yes sir."

He walked a little way down the corridor, and leaned against the wall. She did likewise beside him, a foot of space between them.

"How have you enjoyed your first two hours of Colonel-hood?" He asked, smiling.

She beamed at him. "Colonel Carter has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?"

"You deserve it." He said seriously. She smiled softly at him in thanks.

"What's the count today?" He asked, as he had done every day for the last few weeks.

"No flashbacks, no panic attacks, a little nightmare last night but I went back to sleep afterwards." She recited.

"Feeling alright?"

She grinned. "I just got unexpectedly promoted. What do you think?"

He smirked. "It's a shame I can't unexpectedly promote you more often."

She'd been cleared for active duty the previous week, which had been a big boost to Sam's confidence too. She still had bad days, but on the whole she was healing well. He was so god damn proud of her he could burst.

Daniel poked his head out of the mess doors, and spotted them. "Break's over, guys." He said.

"Can't it be a _long_ fake urgent call?" Jack whined.

"It's not that bad. Go eat some cake, or something." Daniel said, with a complete lack of sympathy.

"D'oh." He muttered, and exchanged a last smile with Carter. "After you, _Colonel_."

"Thank you, _General_."

Daniel rolled his eyes at the pair of them, and held open the door for them both.

"If I come up with a way to get you out of this completely, will you let me go on the Atlantis expedition?"

" _No_ , Daniel." Jack and Sam said in unison.


	16. Endgame

**Season 8 Episode 10 – Endgame**

 _Episode summary: The trust steal the stargate, and SG-1 attempt to retrieve it. General Jack O'Neill is relaying orders to Colonel Pendergast, commander of the Prometheus. They have a target lock on a cargo ship containing trust operatives, who have the stolen stargate and are using it to launch chemical attacks against jaffa, slaughtering thousands. The cargo ship also contains Daniel and Sam (and Teal'c, although Jack doesn't know that). Pendergast wants orders to shoot before the ship can escape. Jack hesitates. Ultimately, Jack's hesitation gives SG-1 the time they need to set a locator beacon so that they and the gate can be beamed out by the Prometheus. Episode ends in the gateroom with Daniel commenting that in retrospect maybe Jack should have destroyed the ship when he had the chance. Jack looks pained, and says 'Some choice', leaving SG-1 awkwardly at the gate ramp._

* * *

"One of us should go talk to him." Daniel said, giving Sam and Teal'c significant looks, as they gathered around Sam's lab bench.

Neither of them asked who he meant or what they needed to talk to Jack about. After their esteemed leader's dour mood in the few hours since they'd gated back to Earth, it was obvious Jack was very disturbed about having had to decide whether or not to shoot a cargo ship containing Daniel and Sam out of the sky. The cargo ship had actually contained Teal'c as well at the time, although Jack hadn't known that until afterwards.

"So … any volunteers?" He asked.

Teal'c raised an eyebrow at him. He could have predicted that asking Teal'c to do it would be a non-starter. _Sam_ on the other hand …

She was squirming a little and avoiding his eye. She didn't want to do it either. _Huh._ He had assumed she would want to be the one to talk to Jack. It had seemed to him that over the last few years, the two of them had gotten pretty good at helping each other deal with the stickier emotional traumas they got served up from week to week.

"Sam?" He prompted.

"Maybe you should do it." She said quickly, looking uncomfortable.

Now _she_ was getting the patented 'Teal'c eyebrow'. Perhaps Daniel wasn't alone in finding her reaction odd.

"Ok … I just figured maybe you might want to. You know, since you're team leader and all …" He said, trying to give her an excuse to do it.

Sam looked even more uncomfortable at that remark. "I don't think talking to the General about his feelings falls under my purview as SG-1's CO." She said.

"No, but talking to him on behalf of the three of us about a tactical decision he made could be considered –"

"It's not an appropriate thing for me to bring up with him, Daniel." Sam snapped, cutting him off. "I'm his subordinate officer, there's a certain level of … professional detachment … we're supposed to maintain."

 _Professional detachment?_ "Since when?" He asked, perplexed.

"Since always." She said defensively.

Daniel exchanged a confused look with Teal'c. Sure, they knew that on paper Jack was Sam's CO and their relationship should be more professional than personal, but SG-1 had always been a little different. You couldn't go through the things that SG-1 had been through together over the years without forming a close personal bond that transcended the traditional working relationship. In the last few years especially, Jack and Sam had seemed to develop a close and healthy friendship, and Daniel knew Jack had been an immense help to Sam in dealing with her PTSD in the aftermath of Fifth's torture. Surely this was no different?

"Has something transpired of which we are unaware, Colonel Carter?" Teal'c asked gently.

"No, of course not." She said.

Daniel frowned sceptically. "Then why are you suddenly so worried about talking to Jack about something personal?"

Sam closed her eyes briefly, looking pained. "I already tried, alright? He doesn't want to talk to me about it. He practically gave me a dressing down for insubordination."

Daniel's eyes widened. "Oh."

Sam looked away, twisting her hands together anxiously, looking hurt.

"I'll talk to him." He said resolutely. Sam nodded and gave him a small smile that didn't reach her eyes. He patted the lab bench decisively, exchanged a significant look with Teal'c, and left.

* * *

Daniel left the mountain, and drove to Jack's house, parking on the driveway behind his truck.

He knocked, and Jack opened the door. "Something I can do for you Daniel?" Jack asked deadpan.

"Can I come in?"

Jack wordlessly let him into the house, and put a beer in his hand as they sat down in the living room.

"You shouldn't have snapped at Sam." He said.

Jack's eyes grew dark with anger. "That's between me and her."

"She was trying to help."

"It's none of your business."

"I disagree. She's my friend, and so are you." He shook his head. "I don't get it, why is it ok for you to be there for her after her ordeal with Fifth, but not ok for her to be there for you after the day you had today?"

"You're a civilian, so maybe you can't understand, but there are certain lines you don't cross with your CO. Ever."

"That's bullshit." Daniel exclaimed. "Firstly, I've spent seven years working on an Air Force run base, so don't tell me I don't understand the rules, I do. But I also know you and Sam, and I _know_ she's been the one to talk to you and help you deal with the fallout from tough missions in the past."

"That was different. We were team mates. I'm a general now, I'm not supposed to show favouritism."

 _Oh._ "Is that what this is about? Someone's accusing you of playing favourites with Sam?"

Jack scowled at his beer bottle, and took a long few moments before answering.

"Hammond and I have been getting some grief from the political types about her promotion and appointment as the CO of SG-1."

" _Why_?" Daniel asked, outraged. "She's earned it a dozen times over, _and_ she's more than proven herself worthy of it since the promotion."

"I know that." Jack retorted acidly. "And Hammond knows that too. And so does everyone who's ever worked with her. But on paper it doesn't look good that my first official act as base commander was to promote my female subordinate officer."

Daniel swore under his breath. Jack raised his eyebrows and saluted him with his beer. "My sentiments exactly."

"Does Sam know?" Daniel asked eventually.

"No. And she doesn't need to know."

Daniel shook his head. "I might have agreed with that, except that your solution of pushing her away by yelling at her for trying to be your friend is just cruel."

"What am I supposed to do, Daniel? Hammond practically ordered me to put some distance between us, for the sake of her career. She's going to make General herself one day if I manage not to screw it up for her."

"Have you considered levelling with her? Telling her all of this?"

"She's got enough on her plate, she doesn't need to be worrying about the political nonsense and gossip as well."

"I think you're forgetting who we're talking about. She can handle it. Frankly I think she'd handle it a hell of a lot better than you are."

Jack stared at him coldly for a moment, and then he deflated a little, sitting back in his chair with a sigh. "Yeah, I know she would."

"So …?"

"So what?"

Daniel blew out an exasperated breath. " _So_ , are you going to explain what's going on to Sam and make things right with her?"

"Will you leave me alone if I say yes?"

"As long as you also agree to talk to her about what happened today." Daniel said.

Jack rolled his eyes and said nothing.

Daniel waited a beat and then persisted. "Either you talk to her about it later or you talk to me about it now."

"Oh for crying out loud, _fine._ I'll talk to Carter."

* * *

Sam jumped in shock when someone knocked on her door. Her _back_ door, which was only accessible by a locked side gate. She cast an uncertain look in the direction of her safe, which contained her personal hand gun, but decided it was unlikely whoever it was would be _knocking_ if they intended her harm.

She opened the door warily, and was surprised and very confused to see her CO silhouetted against the night sky.

"Sir?"

"Hey Carter. Let me in, would you, it's freezing out here."

"It's after midnight and it's January, sir." She said mildly. "Why were you in my backyard?"

"I'm being covert."

"Are we being watched?" She asked in surprise.

"Probably not, but under the circumstances I decided to play it safe."

He opened her cupboards and helped himself to a tumbler of scotch while she watched, baffled.

"What circumstances are those?" She asked when he didn't elaborate.

He took a long draw of the scotch before answering. "I owe you an apology for yelling at you earlier today. I had a reason for it … but Daniel thinks my reasoning was flawed, and I think he's probably right."

"Ok." She said, still waiting for him to shed some light on this bewildering conversation.

"What they don't tell you before they pin that General's star on your shoulder, is that the job comes with a whole lot of politics. Every brown-nosing little weasel at the Pentagon thinks he can do a better job, and everything I do is under a microscope."

"Everything you do, including your friendship with your old team. With me." She filled in.

"Exactly." He nodded, looking relieved. "I'm sorry, I wanted to shield you from this, but … to protect your reputation, and your career, you and I need to appear outwardly to have an entirely professional relationship."

"Is someone making allegations against us?" She asked apprehensively.

"Not exactly, but they're hinting at it."

Sam sighed, and leaned back against the counter. "Crap."

"Yeah."

"You could have told me that before yelling." She said reproachfully.

"Yeah. Sorry."

Sam took a deep breath. "It's ok. We can appear purely professional. It just means we can't spend any time together outside of work and no non-essential contact at the SGC."

Jack grunted. "It's not necessarily forever. Just until the fuss about your promotion has died down."

Sam looked at him sharply. "They're not suggesting …"

Jack winced. "Sam, don't take it personally. No one who knows you would ever dream of suggesting you didn't deserve that promotion."

"But someone, somewhere, is suggesting that your promoting me is evidence of an inappropriate relationship?"

Jack raised an eyebrow at her wryly. "You know, technically it could be argued that we do have an inappropriate relationship. CO's generally aren't supposed to buy engagement rings for their subordinate officers."

Sam flushed. " _They_ don't know anything about that. And we have … special circumstances."

Jack grinned. "That's one way of putting it. Look, Carter, don't lose any sleep over this. It'll blow over. We just need to be a bit more careful for a while."

Sam nodded. "Ok."

Jack set his empty tumbler down with a dull thud. "And for the record – and I'm only saying this because I promised Daniel I would – yes, deciding whether or not to shoot the two of you out of the sky was nine kinds of hell, but I don't need to talk about it. It's part of the job description. Besides, you and I have had the conversation about how much it sucks when one of us is in danger so many times that we could probably recite both sides of the conversation verbatim."

Sam sighed and nodded.

He headed back to her back door. "I don't suppose you have a step ladder I could borrow? Climbing over your fence was a little more challenging than I anticipated."

Sam laughed. "How about I build a secret tunnel through my basement that comes out at a manhole in your backyard?" She teased.

"Just a ladder will be fine."


	17. Its Good to be King

**Season 8 Episode 13 – It's Good To Be King**

 _Episode summary: While trying to rescue Harry Maybourne from an impending goa'uld invasion, SG-1 finds an Ancient ship – a puddle jumper – which contains a time machine. Because it's an Ancient ship, they need Jack to fly it, so he joins them off-world. Sam repairs the ship and Jack gets it airborne. He destroys the goa'uld Ares' mothership, and they thwart the invasion, saving Maybourne's planet. Maybourne elects to stay where he is – as king of the natives. It isn't specified in the episode, but we later learn that unsurprisingly SG-1 took the Ancient time ship back to Earth with them._

* * *

"Easy … a little to the left …"

"Carter, be quiet, would you? I know what I'm doing."

Sam shut her mouth with a harried look, and watched the wall of the shaft Jack was flying the ship up through, flinching when he closed to within an inch.

"I've got it." He assured her.

"You're doing great, sir."

"How much further up?"

Sam peered out of the front window. "A couple more floors. They've knocked through the shaft wall so you should be able to just fly the ship straight in."

"What was that room before?"

"Storage, I think." She hadn't had a chance to look at the base schematics herself yet, but the idea as it had been communicated to her over the radio was that they would, having flown the time ship through the gate, fly it directly up the missile shaft above the gate and land in a room several stories up, which would be accessible via the newly removed wall connecting the room with the shaft.

"There." She said, as the room came into view. There was a plethora of technicians inside the room, and Jack waved irritatedly at them to move.

"They need get out of the way, I'm gonna end up landing on top of one of them."

"Clear the room." Sam said into her radio. They quit trying to act as air traffic controllers and scuttled for the door, leaving Jack space to fly into the confined space.

"And … we're down." He said, as the ship settled to the ground with a bone-rattling thud.

"Well done sir." She said with a relieved smile.

He patted his thighs with a satisfied look. "It handles pretty well, considering it has the aerodynamic properties of a brick."

"I expect the Ancient technology has something to do with that." Sam commented.

"Speaking of which … we have a _time travel_ device." Jack said, with a mischievous glint in his eye.

"No." Sam shut that idea down immediately.

"Aw, come on …"

"Sir, _no_. We can't use it. We've had enough trouble keeping the timeline on track without risking it further by using this."

There was a muffled banging sound as the technicians knocked on the ship's back door. Jack ignored them.

"Don't you wanna just _see_? We could skip ahead to, say, 2015. The kids would be little."

Sam smiled despite herself at the image. "Even if we could fly the ship out of the mountain undetected – which would be completely impossible – just by being in that time period we would risk doing irreparable damage to the timeline. I'm sorry, I want to see them as much as you do, but we have to just wait and get there the old fashioned way, one day at a time."

The banging was getting more insistent now, and a couple of technicians were waving at them through the front window.

Jack sighed grumpily. "Fine. I won't play with our new toy. Spoilsport."

Sam rolled her eyes and got up to open the door for the technicians.

"Don't touch the time device." Sam ordered them as they swarmed in.

"Don't touch _anything_." Jack corrected, following her out. "No one lays hands on this thing until Carter's had a good look at it."

She smirked at the expressions of dismay on the technicians' faces.

They headed out, looking for an elevator to take them back down to the control room level.

"You know, this does raise a question." Jack said as they walked.

"Sir?"

"Why didn't they have this thing in 2034?"

Sam thought about it. "The imposter impersonating my older self – General Carter – said she didn't have a clue how to send us back in time."

"Meaning either she didn't know about this ship, or she didn't have it."

"She did years of research before replacing the General, I can't believe she wouldn't have known about it." Sam said as they arrived at an elevator, and she swiped her ID card to call it.

"Right, so … where did it go?"

Sam raised her eyebrows, looking at him as they waited for the elevator to arrive. "I guess we'll have to wait to find out."


	18. Reckoning

**Season 8 Episodes 16 & 17 – Reckoning**

 _Episode summary: The free jaffa seize Dakara, which has a hidden super-weapon capable of destroying all life in the galaxy – or just certain types of life. Ba'al is also trying to seize this weapon on behalf of Anubis, but doesn't particularly want it to fall into Anubis' hands himself. Ba'al agrees to work with Sam and Jacob to program the device to work against the replicators. Daniel is kidnapped by RepliCarter, who probes his mind to find the weapon's location. Replicators attack the SGC. Daniel manages to take brief control of the replicators via his link with RepliCarter's mind, and halts them long enough to give Jack in the SGC, Teal'c onboard a goa'uld ship, and Sam & Jacob on Dakara, an advantage. RepliCarter finds the location of Dakara and kills Daniel, but she is too late to stop the weapon, and Jacob activates it, destroying all replicators in the galaxy, including the replicator ship Daniel was on. Ba'al is ambushed by rebel jaffa and flees, giving a big boost to the rebel jaffa cause._

* * *

It was late, _really_ late, and _God_ she was tired, but Sam couldn't go home.

Daniel might be dead, in fact it was probable that he was dead. How was she supposed to just drive her car home, put on her pyjamas and go to bed when Daniel was probably dead?

Not to mention that the war looked like it was ending, after four long years of waiting, and hoping. At this point, even given the bone-deep fatigue in her limbs, she thought she'd probably need a sedative to sleep. Or maybe just a quick blow to the head.

She sighed anxiously and closed her laptop. The report was done, it had been done hours ago. Proof reading it for the hundredth time wasn't going to achieve anything.

She wandered up to Jack's office, but it was empty. Maybe he _could_ sleep.

Instead she went to Daniel's office. She wished she hadn't as she stood in the doorway – she got a sudden, powerful memory of the hours she'd spent hanging out in this room, mourning him, the last time he'd died. She thought bitterly that she hadn't known how lucky she was at the time. At least then they'd known that Daniel had ascended. This time it was just a giant question mark. He'd been beamed away by a replicator – almost certainly her own duplicate – and that was it. That was the last time they had seen or heard from him. If he was still on board a replicator ship when the weapon was activated, he was dead. But really, they had no way of knowing for sure either way.

Maybe that was why Jack could sleep, she thought. Daniel had a habit of beating the odds. Given enough reasonable doubt …

She sighed in frustration and spun around to head back to her lab, and ran straight into the solid wall of Jack's chest.

"Woah, Carter, sorry." He steadied her. "Didn't mean to sneak up on you."

"It's my fault, I should have looked where I was going." She said distractedly. "I thought you'd gone home, sir."

"Couldn't sleep." He said distractedly. "Plus I wanted to be close at hand in case Teal'c calls in …"

"Right." She nodded. "Any more news?"

"No, they're still consolidating their support at Dakara. I'm kinda waiting for the other shoe to drop."

"You think Anubis will make another move against them?"

"You think he won't?" Jack asked incredulously.

Sam shook her head. "I'm sure he will, it's just a matter of how and when."

Jack canted his head to the side with a raise of his eyebrows in acknowledgement. He looked over her shoulder. "Whatcha doin' down here?"

"Nothing really. You?"

"Nothing."

Sam made a frustrated sound in her throat and decided to just say what was on her mind. "If he was onboard a replicator ship …"

"Ah! Carter, we've had this conversation."

"Yes, and you cut me off that time as well." She said, irritated. He raised his eyebrows and motioned for her continue.

" _If_ he was onboard a replicator ship when the weapon went off … do you think he would have been able to ascend again?" She asked.

He shrugged. "Maybe, I don't know. Oma helped him last time, right?"

"Yes. But maybe she was around this time too, maybe she could have helped him again."

"In which case … wouldn't he have dropped in by now to let us know he was alright?"

Sam's heart dropped, and she looked at the floor. She knew he was probably right … but it was killing her, not knowing. She needed to cling onto some hope.

"Sam … like I said before in my office. We don't know for sure he was on that ship. We don't _know_ that he's dead."

"So what, we just sit on our hands and hope for the best?"

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Jack asked, exasperated. "We know he survives, in some manner or another, because he's going to father Serena at some point in the next five or so years."

"I know, but even so …"

"I know you're worried." He put a hand on each of her shoulders. "And I know this goes completely against your usual urge to fix everything. But we just have to wait this one out. Let the chips fall where they may."

She looked into his eyes and let out a long slow breath, trying to take some comfort in his gaze. He was right. She couldn't influence the outcome either way. Worrying about it wouldn't achieve anything.

"And hey, at least it seems like the war ending might not be far off." He said with a smirk.

She gave him a wry smile in return. "There's that." She acknowledged.

He patted her shoulders and let her go. "Go to bed, Carter. We'll probably have another long day tomorrow."


	19. Threads

**Season 8 Episode 18 – Threads**

 _ **Episode summary:**_ _Bra'tac and Teal'c try to hold Dakara as Anubis schemes to take it back and use the super weapon to end all life in the galaxy. Daniel, who is being helped to ascend once again by Oma Desala, tries to convince Oma and the other ascended beings to intervene to stop Anubis. Jacob dies in the SGC infirmary. Anubis tricks the jaffa rebellion and takes Dakara, and dials every stargate in the galaxy using Ba'al's dialling program, preparing to use the weapon. Daniel convinces Oma to attack Anubis. Jack and Sam set the base self-destruct to try and protect the Earth from the weapon, but the gate suddenly shuts off and the self-destruct countdown freezes. In the briefing room, Teal'c and Bra'tac discuss the events with Jack and Sam, revealing that without Anubis the super soldiers/kull warriors were successfully vanquished, and the jaffa rebellion had won the day. They speculate about the cause of Anubis' disappearance, Sam and Jack believing it was Daniel. Daniel 'descends' naked in Jack's office, stating it wasn't him that did it._

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ _I've used a few lines of the original episode dialogue in this. I am in no way claiming this as my own._

 _ **Author's note:**_ _Ok, obviously in my timeline Sam/Pete isn't a thing, as I nipped that in the bud back in the Grace tag, and Jack/Kerry wouldn't be a thing either. So, for the purpose of this tag, those Sam/Pete and Jack/Kerry scenes in Threads never happened. This episode tag has two parts: the first is an alteration to the scene between Sam and Jacob in the infirmary when he was trying to tell her not to let rules stand in the way of her happiness and in the episode she either didn't get it or played dumb. The second part is set after Daniel appears in Jack's office, having de-ascended, and ends just prior to the fishing scene._

* * *

[PART ONE – The Sam & Jacob infirmary scene]

"I should have been dead four years ago. Since then, I've been all over the galaxy. I've done things most men never dream of." Jacob said, looking at his daughter fondly.

"I've heard that before."

"I just want to know you're gonna be happy."

"I am."

Jacob gave her a shrewd look. "Don't let rules stand in your way."

"What are you talking about?" Sam said. She had a feeling she knew the answer, but she had been careful never to so much as hint to her father of her feelings for Jack.

"You joined the Air Force because of me."

"I love my job." She said, chuckling slightly at the absurdity of the idea that she wouldn't.

"You can still have everything you want." Jacob said intently, cupping her face in his hand as he spoke and then squeezing her shoulder.

Sam's heart stuttered a little. He knew. She had no idea how, but somehow, he knew about how she felt about Jack. Maybe he even knew it went both ways. She couldn't look away from the piercing look in his eyes.

"We went to the future." She whispered, taking hold of his hand. "Accidentally. We were just gating home, and there was a solar flare, and we – General O'Neill and I, although he was a Colonel then – we ended up spending a few days in the year 2034."

Jacob's eyes widened. "You saw your own future?" He asked.

She nodded.

"What did you see?"

"We have two kids. Beth and … and –" she choked on a sob. "… and Jake."

"You and Jack?" Jacob asked.

Sam nodded. "We get married."

Jacob released a breath as though he'd been holding it. "Thank you for telling me."

"I'm going to be happy, Dad. I promise."

He smiled softly at her. "That's all I wanted."

* * *

[PART TWO – The briefing room after Daniel's de-ascension]

"Nope it wasn't me." Daniel's disembodied voice floated over the conversation between Jack, Sam, Teal'c and Bra'tac at the briefing room table.

Sam blinked. Was that …?

"Did anybody else just hear that?" Jack asked, looking at Sam, and she nodded stiffly, relieved she wasn't cracking up and hearing things.

"I'm in here!" Daniel's voice came indignantly, from the direction of Jack's office.

Jack turned to look at his office, and then looked back at her. "That's Daniel." He said, getting up and going to the door.

"No! Don't come in!"

"Woah!" Jack recoiled. " _Hey_ there!"

He looked speculatively at the US flag, and then turned around and tore the SGC's flag from its pole, handing it to Daniel. After some rustling, Daniel appeared in the doorway, clearly entirely naked except for the flag now secured around his waist. Sam looked away hurriedly.

"It's … ah, a long story." He said. She met his eyes and nodded with an embarrassed smile, and then they all quickly looked away from each other again, awkwardly.

"Jack." Daniel prompted after a moment.

"Daniel?"

"Clothes?"

"Right!" Jack skirted around Daniel, giving him perhaps an unnecessarily wide berth, and beckoned over the airman on guard duty. "Get Dr Jackson a uniform from laundry. _Quickly_."

"Underwear and boots too!" Daniel yelled in the direction of the retreating airman's back.

"Have you once again descended from a higher plane of existence, Daniel Jackson?" Teal'c asked, deadpan, as though he was asking Daniel if he'd been to the store.

"Uh, yeah … basically … yes."

"Died again, did we?" Jack asked.

"Sam killed me." Daniel answered, and Sam flinched. "No! Uh, Replicator Sam. Not _Sam_ Sam. Sorry."

"And you were saying how you _weren't_ responsible for Anubis vanishing and our self-destruct countdown freezing?" Jack asked.

"That was Oma." He said, giving them a significant look.

"Oma? I thought the Ancients wouldn't get involved in stopping Anubis?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, didn't they actually _stop_ you and kick you back to us 'lower mortals' with no memories when you tried to attack Anubis when you were ascended before?" Jack added.

"Yep. Don't ask me to explain it. They were right there, they could have stopped her, but they didn't. I don't know, maybe something of what I was saying got through to them."

Sam smiled wryly. "If anyone could convince them I'm sure it would be you."

Daniel smiled back at her. "Honestly, I'm as surprised as all of you. It was like talking to a brick wall, they wouldn't even acknowledge my existence, much less talk to me about it."

"So you remember everything this time?" Jack asked.

Daniel shifted awkwardly. "Well … _yes_ , but it's not like I really saw or did anything. I was just in a … diner."

"A diner?" Sam repeated.

"As in, over-priced coffee, pleather booths, cute little waitress uniforms …" Jack said, gesticulating in a way that made Sam blush.

"Well, Oma was the one in the waitress uniform, but … yes."

"Wow. I kinda thought the Ancients would go for something a bit more upscale." Jack commented.

Daniel coughed, embarrassed. "Oma took the venue from my memory. It was the diner Nick took me to after my parents' funeral."

Sam winced in sympathy, feeling a sharp stab of pain at the reminder of her own father's upcoming funeral.

Bra'tac rose suddenly. "I am glad you are alive once again, Dr Jackson. I must however depart. There is much to be done to organise the jaffa into a united nation."

Sam and Teal'c had stood from their seats as well, and Bra'tac turned to Sam. "I will return for your father's memorial service. He was a great warrior and a true friend. His contribution to the free jaffa nation will not be forgotten."

Sam felt tears prick in her eyes as she nodded stiffly. "Thank you."

Bra'tac bowed his head to them all, and left, Teal'c following him down the stairs to the control room.

Daniel appeared at Sam's elbow, still naked but for the flag. "Sam?" He asked softly.

"Jacob died." Jack told him for her, before she had to say the words herself.

"Oh God, I'm sorry." Daniel said. "What happened?"

"Selmak died of old age, took Jacob with him." Jack answered.

"When?"

"Yesterday." Sam said. She folded her arms in front of herself protectively. "The memorial service is tomorrow in the gate-room, and there'll be an official funeral at Arlington on Friday. The Tok'ra are also having their own memorial for Selmak."

The airman appeared then, with an armful of clothing and a pair of boots for Daniel. Daniel took it all awkwardly, still holding the flag up with one hand, and with an embarrassed look at Jack and Sam, disappeared into Jack's office to change.

Sam looked at Jack, and found him watching her with a gentle expression. "Have you decided whether you want to go to the Tok'ra's memorial?" He asked.

She shook her head. "I don't think I will. The memorial we're having here is really for both of them, and after that _and_ the funeral …" She trailed off with a grimace.

"Too much?" He guessed.

She nodded, letting out a deep breath.

"Besides, after the falling out the Tok'ra had with Dad, and with us … I'm not sure I'd be welcome."

Daniel appeared again, dressed in a t-shirt and pants, and dumped the boots and jacket on the briefing room table as he sat down to put on some socks.

"You're going to need to get checked out in the infirmary." Jack told him.

Daniel looked perplexed. "Why?"

" _Why_?" Jack repeated incredulously. "Call it a post-mission physical. Or a post-mortem physical, technically speaking."

"It's not like I still have the wound." He argued.

Sam winced, wondering exactly how her replicator duplicate had killed him.

"Humour me." Jack insisted.

Daniel rolled his eyes but didn't argue further.

He laced up his boots and stood, shrugging into his jacket, and the three of them went to watch at the observation window as the gate dialled to send Bra'tac home. Sam was between the two men, and felt comforted when both of them stood close enough on either side of her that she could feel their body heat in her upper arms. Daniel suddenly put an arm around her shoulders and gave her a squeeze.

"I'm sorry about your Dad." He said sincerely.

She met his eyes and smiled sadly at him. "I'm glad you're back."

* * *

As it was intended for both Jacob and Selmak, and as there would be an 'official' Air Force funeral the next day, the SGC's memorial was more informal than their usual fare, and not laced with Air Force ceremonial procedures. Sam held Daniel's hand tightly, and cried silently throughout Jack's eulogy.

Afterwards, Daniel drove her and Teal'c to the wake at Jack's house. Amid the dozens of SGC personnel mingling around her, she found herself installed on the living room furniture with SG-1, while General Hammond told them funny stories about his years serving with Jacob. The wake ended and people gradually disappeared, but SG-1 stayed right there until Sam dozed off watching a movie, her head drooping onto Jack's shoulder.

The next morning Sam woke in the guest room at Jack's knock on the door, and the four of them got up quickly and quietly, needing to make preparations for their trip to Arlington. As Daniel had driven Sam and Teal'c to the wake, he drove Sam home before heading home himself. Teal'c had packed a bag the day before and so was able to get dressed for the funeral at Jack's house.

Freshly showered and back in her dress blues once more, Sam was collected and driven to the airport, flown to Virginia, and driven to Arlington National Cemetary. General Hammond delivered the eulogy, and she didn't cry this time. Her father wouldn't have wanted that, not at Arlington. Colonels – and especially Carters – didn't cry at Air Force funerals. Even for their fathers.

At General Hammond's house afterwards at yet another wake, the day became a blur of faces of Air Force officers and old acquaintances of her father's, offering their condolences as she smiled politely and made small-talk from behind her perfectly set 'Colonel' mask. Throughout the wake she either had Jack, Daniel or Teal'c at her side – the only exception was when she had spoken with her brother, and they had withdrawn to give the grieving siblings a moment of privacy.

As the wake drew to a natural end, she thanked General Hammond profusely for hosting it, and he gave her a bear hug that reminded her viscerally of a time when she had been a gangly teenager and he had been 'Uncle George'.

She didn't miss the significant look he gave Jack over her shoulder, and she raised her eyebrows questioningly at Jack as they left, but he shook his head and waved her off, dismissing it as nothing.

It was the middle of the night when they arrived back in Colorado Springs, and Sam fell straight into bed, and into the best night's sleep she'd had in weeks.

* * *

The next morning was a Saturday, but Sam went to the base and caught up on some of the work that had piled up in her in-tray over the previous few days. Teal'c brought her some lunch in the middle of the day, and told her about Bra'tac's progress with the newly forming jaffa nation while she ate.

Jack appeared in her lab doorway to evict her from the mountain at 1700 hours on the dot. She didn't argue, just shut down her computer and followed him to the locker rooms to change. He met her at the elevator afterwards, and he grinned at her as they parted in the parking lot, leaving her staring at him in bemused puzzlement.

The note stuck in her car windshield wipers went some way towards explaining the grin.

 _Follow me._

A few minutes later his truck pulled slowly past her car, and he raised his eyebrows at her from the driving seat. She nodded at him in response, and pulled out behind him.

He drove away from the mountain in the opposite direction to the residential district that contained both of their houses. She followed him for about twenty minutes, before he pulled into the parking lot of a little restaurant. She'd never seen it before – would never have known it was there at all from the main road.

She got out of her car and met him as he shut the door of his truck. "Sir, what are we doing here?"

"Having dinner." He said with a lopsided smirk.

"Together?"

He rolled his eyes at her. "No, Carter, I thought we'd get tables on opposite sides of the restaurant and pretend we've never met. _Yes_ , together."

"Is that wise?"

He cocked his head as he looked at her. "No one's going to see us, this place gets maybe twenty customers a night, and most of those a lot later in the evening than this. Besides, there's nothing strictly wrong with friends having dinner."

"And that's what this is? Friends having dinner?"

"It's a start." He said, and his eyes seemed to darken with intent. "The war's over Sam. We need to have a conversation."

She shivered, and knew it had nothing to do with the cold Colorado air. "Ok."

Inside, Jack gave his name to a waiter and they were led to a table inside the cosy restaurant. It was small, and rustic, and romantic in a mountain lodge kind of way.

"I wish you'd given me some warning. I'm not exactly dressed for this." She fidgeted with the cuff of her denim jacket self-consciously.

"You look great." Jack said. "Besides, we're not here on a date. We're here to talk."

… _about dating._ Sam added silently in her head. _I would still have liked to at least make sure I wasn't wearing sneakers._

They ordered some food, forgoing any alcohol as they both had to drive home after the meal, although Sam thought she could have used the boost of dutch courage.

Jack seemed almost eerily calm and comfortable in comparison. He started up a conversation about a mutual friend he'd discovered that he and her father had shared, when he had run into the man at the wake the previous day. She slowly felt her nerves ease away as they talked, and she realised the pressure she'd been feeling was self-imposed and a little silly. This wasn't a nail-biting first date, this was Jack, who she had comfortably talked to about anything and everything for years.

"I had a conversation with Hammond yesterday." Jack admitted when they were half-way through their first course.

Sam raised her eyebrows. "About …" She waggled her finger between the two of them.

"I told him I was thinking about retirement."

Sam put her fork down and sat back in her chair. "Is that really the only option?"

"Well, I thought so. George has other ideas."

"Like what?"

"He's retiring himself. The President sort of brow-beat him into taking the Head of Homeworld Security job, and he figures now the war's over he can retire without dissing the leader of the free world."

"I doubt he put it exactly like that." She said with a chuckle.

"Yes well, he's a southern gentleman." Jack smirked at her. "Anyway, he wants me to take his post."

"Head of Homeworld Security? In DC?" Sam asked, surprised.

"It comes with a second star, and a signed letter from the President."

Sam bit her lip, looking at him carefully. "A signed letter … saying what exactly?"

"Giving the two of us permission to pursue a personal relationship."

Jack let that sink in for a moment, watching her reaction. She gulped. "The President knows about … us?" She asked.

"He knows we have … certain … _feelings_. Apparently our old buddy Kinsey started whispering things in his ear as soon as he'd taken the oath of office. The President didn't take much notice at first, but then after the mutterings started about your promotion earlier this year, he asked Hammond about it, straight up."

"And General Hammond knew about us?" She asked, more than a little appalled at how thoroughly they'd failed in their efforts to stay under the radar.

"Sam, Hammond's known about how I feel about you since before we even went to 2034." Jack said, looking mildly amused that she hadn't realised. "Remember the Zatarc testing? Remember Jonah and Thera?"

"Obviously I do, but I didn't realise _General Hammond_ knew about the implications of those … situations."

"The people in the room for the Zatarc testing had to report back to him. Similarly a comment someone made when we were relocating all the workers from the ice planet got back to him. Both times he called me into his office for a little chat."

He grimaced at the memory, and she guessed it hadn't been a comfortable conversation.

"Anyway, the point is, Hammond knows. And he made the decision to level with the President, so he could defend us honestly."

"And …?" Sam asked nervously.

"And … President Hayes decided to listen to Hammond and trust us to do our jobs."

"I guess I'd have heard about it if he'd decided otherwise." Sam commented. "And General Hammond thinks he'll write us a letter?"

"He was certain of it. I kind of got the impression they'd talked about it before."

"Holy Hannah." Sam said under her breath. "We were so careful …"

"We were never going to completely fool the people closest to us." Jack said reasonably. "Obviously Daniel and Teal'c are _well_ aware."

"Obviously." She chuckled. "At least no one but us knows about 2034. We at least managed to keep that secret for four years."

"Yep. Fortunately Daniel never remembered me telling him when he was ascended."

"I told my dad." Sam admitted suddenly after a moment, looking at her food rather than meeting his eye. "In the infirmary, when he was …" She took a deep, steadying breath. "He knew about how I felt about you, too. He told me not to let Air Force rules stand in the way of my happiness. So I told him about 2034, and the kids."

Jack smiled at her softly. "I know."

Her eyes flew back up to meet his. "How?"

"I talked to him after you told him."

"What did he say?" She asked, almost in a whisper.

Jack snorted. "A bunch of manly macho stuff that would make you kick both our asses. You know, 'take care of my daughter', that kind of thing."

Sam chuckled and shook her head.

"So … what do you think? About Hammond's proposal?" He asked.

Sam thought about it for a minute. "I think you'll hate Washington, and the politics." She said honestly.

"That's a given." Jack conceded.

"I think the second star is great, especially for being so soon after the first one. It's a good career move for you."

She thought some more, and then sighed. "And I think if General Hammond's retiring, we could really use you in that job. No other General has your experience. We need someone like you at the helm in Washington, going to bat for us, and I don't know anyone else I'd trust to do that."

"Yeah, Hammond made that point too." Jack said. "And then there's the letter."

"And then there's the letter." Sam nodded. "Which we need. Desperately."

A grin spread slowly over Jack's face. " _Desperately_ , huh?"

"Shut up." She retorted, smiling shyly. They shared a long, flirtatious look while Sam blushed furiously and cursed her fair skin.

"It would mean doing the long-distance thing for a while." Jack said seriously.

"We can do that." Sam said. "It's better than not doing anything at all on each other's doorsteps."

"And I'm saying right now, whichever General we tap to take over the SGC, I'd be looking to groom him to take over the Homeworld Security gig at some point. I don't want to be in that god-forsaken hell-hole forever, especially not once the kids are born."

Sam smiled broadly at the thought of the kids. "Duly noted."

"So … we're doing this?" He asked. He actually looked nervous.

"I think we are." She said, smiling at him. He smiled back.

"Excellent." He said, and took a big bite of his steak.

That settled, they talked about other things for the rest of the meal. Afterwards, outside, Jack caught Sam's hand before she could leave him to walk to her car.

"I'll call Hammond tonight. See if I can get a timeframe." He said, tangling their fingers together.

She smiled, revelling in the delicious sensation of her fingers entwined with his. "Call me after?"

"You bet."

* * *

Sam was laying awake in bed when her phone finally rang. She snatched it up, checked caller ID, and answered with an anxious demand for information.

"What did he say?"

Jack chuckled at her blunt greeting. "Hello to you too. It looks good – he wants me to go to Washington tomorrow so we can go through the shortlist of candidates for the SGC command, and talk to the President. The aim is to get all the decisions made tomorrow and get a fixed date for Hammond's retirement and my transfer."

"That's great." Sam let out a breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding.

"Yeah, it is." He agreed softly. "I don't suppose it would do any good if I told you to take the day off tomorrow?"

"None at all. I need something to occupy my mind."

Jack humphed. "I'll call or something tomorrow after all the meetings. Night Carter."

"Goodnight sir."

* * *

Sam was on a crane, leaning out over the top of the gate. Now that the world wasn't in danger of ending imminently, the technicians had scheduled some time for some gate maintenance, and she'd been called in to consult on a sticking point in the gate mechanism.

She almost fell from the crane in surprise when a familiar voice startled her from directly underneath her.

"I hope you filled out a health and safety form for this, Colonel."

"Sir!" She exclaimed, in a mix of surprise and reproach.

"Sorry Carter, didn't mean to startle you."

He was in his dress blues, and it was barely 1600 hours. She hadn't expected him back this early. She climbed down from the crane in an awkward rush.

"Everything alright sir?" She asked breathlessly when she was back on terra firma, as Sgt Siler climbed up to take her place.

He had a twinkle in his eyes. "Absolutely. In fact, I have a special assignment for you, Carter. For all of SG-1, actually."

"Sir?" She asked, wondering what on earth he was talking about.

"See, there are these sneaky, slimy, non-humanoid life forms completely overrunning an aquatic environment, in an otherwise peaceful and idyllic human settlement. I think I need to send SG-1 to take some hostile action. Show the slimy buggers who's boss."

She looked at him like he'd completely lost his mind. "Sir?"

He rolled his eyes at her. "Fishing, Carter. Let's go fishing."

A broad grin spread over her face slowly. "I'd love to. Sir."

"Excellent." He looked up at Siler, now directly overhead, who was watching them curiously. "As you were, Siler."

* * *

Jack was throwing clothes into a suitcase when there was a knock at his door. It wasn't any of SG-1, he recognised their knocks. This was four even beats. On the way past a window he spotted a black SUV. An _official_ knock.

He opened the door warily to the Air Force Lieutenant standing in full dress uniform on his doorstep. "Lieutenant." He said by way of greeting.

"General, sir." The painfully young man saluted, and Jack saluted back perfunctorily.

"What can I do for you?" He asked.

"I have a document to deliver to you directly from the President of the United States of America. Sir!" He said.

Geez, this guy was enthusiastic.

Jack waited a beat. "… Ok …"

He held out a hand, expectantly, and the young man startled as if he'd forgotten he needed to actually hand the document over. He thrust the manila folder he was holding towards Jack, who took it without opening it.

"Is that all, Lieutenant?"

"Yes sir!"

"Thank you." He narrowed his eyes at the boy who was still standing completely at attention and staring at a point somewhere over his right shoulder. "Dismissed."

The lieutenant saluted again, and about-faced, practically marching back to his car. Jack chuckled and watched until he'd climbed into the back of the SUV and it had driven away.

He took the folder through to his kitchen, expecting it was his official transfer orders – although it occurred to him that it as odd for those to come direct from the Oval Office. He was on leave this week, and due to be taking up his post in Washington very shortly after his return.

Sure enough, it was the transfer orders. He flicked through the pages to check there were no surprises. It all seemed as expected … and then he reached the last page. It had a note stuck to it, in the President's handwriting.

 _Jack_

 _Consider this my 'thank you' gift for all those times you and Colonel Carter saved the world._

 _H_

It was a letter. It was _the_ letter. It was the President giving him and Carter permission to pursue a personal relationship without sacrificing their respective military ranks and posts. That wasn't odd in itself, as they'd been expecting it, so he looked it over thoroughly.

It was dated yesterday. They had permission as of yesterday.

He grinned. This fishing trip just got a whole lot more interesting.

* * *

He had seriously considered just driving straight to Sam's house at breakneck speed and kissing her thoroughly the second she opened the door. But, figuring there were even odds she might deck him for doing that, and feeling the moment required slightly more gravitas, he restrained himself.

Instead, he hatched a plan. He was going to have fun with this.

They were taking two cars for the drive to Minnesota, his and Daniel's, and they would split the driving between the four of them. They switched out drivers and passengers at each rest break, so they all got to spend some time together. They finally arrived at the cabin as night was starting to fall, and Jack headed straight inside to turn on the power, and lights, as the others hauled the luggage out of his truck.

He took the opportunity of being alone in the cabin to make some urgent preparations for his master plan, and then welcomed them into the structure with gusto and an over the top French accent that made all three of them look at him with a ' _Seriously?_ ' expression. Even Teal'c.

"There are three bedrooms, one of which has twin beds. Carter, you're in the room at the end thataway, Daniel and Teal'c in the twin, first door on the right, and I'm keeping my room, unless any of you would like to fight me for it?"

They accepted the room assignments tiredly, without complaint, and took themselves off to bed.

He put his suitcase in his room and closed the door. Then he sat on the bed, and waited.

And waited.

Damn it Carter, the one time I _need_ you to follow an order and do some unnecessary research …

* * *

Sam dragged her suitcase all the way to the door of the bedroom's little en suite, and stripped off her clothes, getting straight into the shower. The drive had made her feel sticky and uncomfortable, and she wanted to be thoroughly clean before she got into bed.

Freshly showered and wrapped in a towel, she rooted through her suitcase for her pyjamas, pulling out the baggy pyjama pants and the tight long sleeved top she'd selected for the trip. She pulled them on and moved her suitcase to the chair at the end of the bed, just then noticing the heavy book on the bed covers.

 _The Total Fishing Manual, Volume 3_

It had a note stuck to the cover.

 _Do your research Colonel. There'll be a quiz._

She rolled her eyes, and climbed into bed. She almost set it aside, but was curious to at least see the chapter titles. It was _fishing_ , how much could there possibly be to know? As far as she could tell you just sat there until the fish came to you.

With the covers pulled up to her waist, she opened the front cover of the book, and an envelope fell out into her lap. Curiosity piqued, she picked it up and opened it, pulling out a photocopied document.

It was the President's letter, giving her and Jack permission to pursue a relationship, and she grinned. There was another smaller envelope inside the first envelope, and she pulled that out too. On the front was a short note, in Jack's handwriting.

 _Look at the date._

The date? She looked at the President's letter, and froze in shock as she registered the date the permission was effective from. Yesterday. They had permission right now.

She opened the smaller envelope, and pulled out the ring, the _engagement_ ring, that Jack had bought for her three years ago. It was taped to a tiny piece of paper, that said, simply: _Marry me_.

She squeaked, and leapt from the bed, throwing open the door and running the few steps to his door. She didn't knock, but went straight in, stopping at the foot of his bed.

"You know, for a while there I thought my fiendishly clever plan was going to fall flat on its face. I thought the allure of a technical manual would draw you in _much_ faster than that." He grouched, sitting up.

"Yes." She whispered.

He climbed out of bed, walking right up to her, and looking down at her with impossibly dark eyes.

"Say that again." He said.

"Yes." She said, grinning, and threw her arms around his neck. They kissed, hungrily, thoroughly, and Jack kicked his bedroom door shut and pulled her towards his bed.

It was going to be a _truly_ fantastic night.

* * *

Sam woke up slowly, to the sight of sun streaming through the curtains and the sound of a chorus of birds singing.

More pressing than the sight and the sounds however, was the warm, delicious feeling of a naked male body close behind her, an arm holding her tightly around the waist. She grinned, and looked at the sparkling blue stone on her finger. She could definitely get used to this.

She rolled over to look at her sleeping companion, and Jack groaned a little as he woke up, kissing her shoulder affectionately.

"Morning." She whispered.

He squeezed her tighter against him. "Nope, still night time. Definitely need to sleep in a bit longer."

She chuckled. "I smell coffee. I think the guys are up."

He growled and lifted his head, looking at her blearily. "And that affects us _how_?"

"You don't think they'll come looking if we don't appear?"

He leaned down to kiss her, and she moaned as his hands started wandering, awaking all kinds of pleasant reminders of their activities the previous night. "Jack." She admonished him breathlessly when they stopped for air.

"Do you think they know you're in here?" He asked.

"We were quiet." She said, flushing a little. "But … yeah they probably know. I'd be very surprised if Teal'c didn't, at least."

"So … we probably can't just make out in bed all morning?"

"Probably not." She agreed, grinning.

"Damn." He pulled away from her reluctantly, sitting up and looking down at her with a fond and slightly lecherous expression. "You're beautiful."

She blushed and grinned, sitting up and kissing him again. "I'm gonna go shower." She said as she climbed out of bed and put on her discarded pyjamas from the night before.

"Can I come?" He asked hopefully.

She rolled her eyes at him and left.

Luckily she didn't cross paths with either of her team mates on her quick trip from Jack's room to her own. Not that they weren't going to have to tell the guys about the change in their relationship, but she hadn't particularly wanted the awkward moment of being caught sneaking out of Jack's room.

She showered and dressed, and then sat on the unused bed, looking at the little 'Marry me' note fondly. She was going to have to keep that safe.

There was a knock on her doorframe, and she looked up to see Jack standing there, smiling softly. "Daniel wants to know if you want bacon and eggs."

Her stomach rumbled loudly, and she flushed in embarrassment, smiling at him ruefully.

"I'll take that as a yes." He chuckled.

"Have they said anything?" She asked. "Have you?"

"Not yet." He answered. "They've been giving me some pretty weird looks, but I figure they're probably waiting for you."

She drew in a fortifying breath and stood up. "Ok then. Time to face the music."

He crossed the short space between them, and cupped her face in his hands, kissing her gently but passionately, making her knees turn to butter.

"For luck." He whispered.

She smiled, and kissed him again, and then led him out of the room and round to the kitchen, which was emitting some very enticing scents.

"Good morning, Colonel Carter." Teal'c said, entirely too brightly, with a wide smile. _Yup, he definitely knows where I spent last night._

"Morning." She replied with a nervous smile, and eagerly took the plate of food Daniel offered her.

Daniel gave a plate to Jack too, and held it for a moment when Jack tried to take it, giving the older man a significant look. Jack ignored the look and wrestled the plate away, sitting down beside Sam and tucking in.

Daniel watched them for a moment, attacking their food with single-minded purpose, and then cleared his throat.

"So, does this need to be like I'm talking to you in the principal's office, or are you two going to come clean?"

Sam gulped down her bit of bacon, and looked at Daniel exactly like a student who'd been caught cutting class.

"Can we finish our breakfast first?" Jack whined.

Daniel raised his eyebrows and smirked. "Why? Had an energetic night, did we?"

"Daniel!" Sam exclaimed reproachfully, her cheeks turning crimson.

Jack set his cutlery down with a sigh. "There's a folder on the coffee table. Go get the last page."

Daniel frowned and did as instructed, and Teal'c took the position Daniel had vacated directly in front of the couple, staring at Jack with his most intimidating stare that clearly stated 'if I find you are harming Colonel Carter or her career in any way I will end you'. Jack gulped.

Daniel walked slowly back into the kitchen, an incredulous smile on his face as he read the document. "This is dated two days ago."

Jack grinned. "Yes it is."

Daniel passed it to Teal'c, who read it with slowly rising eyebrows.

"So … um … you two are allowed to …" Daniel stuttered.

"Yes we are." Jack said, beaming.

"Wow." Daniel said, looking between the two of them. "You know, you could have just said you wanted a couple of days here alone before Teal'c and I came to join you …"

Jack shook his head. "We didn't know about this two days ago, it got delivered to me twenty minutes before we left. Sam didn't know about it until late last night."

"I believe congratulations are in order." Teal'c said. He walked around the kitchen island and gave Sam a hug. "I am very happy for you, Samantha."

"Thanks Teal'c." She said, hugging him back.

"Oh my God!" Daniel suddenly yelped, making her jump in Teal'c hold.

"What?" Jack asked, exasperated.

Daniel pointed wordlessly to Sam's hand. Her left hand, which sported her newest and favourite item of jewellery.

"Oh yeah, we're engaged." Jack said casually, as if he'd forgotten to mention something trivial.

Sam rolled her eyes at him and smiled shyly at Daniel and Teal'c. "He asked me last night, that's how I found out about the President's letter. He left a fishing manual on my bed with a photocopy of the President's letter, the ring, and a note saying 'Marry me', hidden inside."

"Wow, Jack, that's actually pretty romantic." Daniel said, awestruck.

"You needn't sound so surprised." Jack said, mildly affronted. "I can do romantic."

"You are indeed a man of many talents." Teal'c said, walking up to him and gripping his forearm in the jaffa gesture of brotherly respect. "I wish you many years of happiness together, and I must assure you of my intention to cause you great bodily harm if you ever cause her any pain." He said in one breath.

Jack coughed in surprise. "Duly noted."

"Yeah, uh, likewise." Daniel said awkwardly, gesturing vaguely.

Sam rolled her eyes. "Oh brother. Look, if anyone's going to be kicking Jack's ass if he screws up, it's going to be me, ok?" She said to them both sternly.

Teal'c gave her a respectful head bow with a smile, and Daniel smirked.

"Good, glad we got that settled." Jack said, and clapped his hands together. "Fishing, anyone?"


	20. Moebius

**Season 8 Episode 20 – Moebius**

 _ **Episode summary:**_ _SG-1 plus General O'Neill use the puddle jumper they found on Maybourne's planet to travel back in time 5000 years, in an attempt to salvage a fully charged ZPM. They get stranded, however, and change the timeline. The new timeline gang discover a videotape SG-1 had buried, and embark on a mission to fix the original SG-1's mistakes, to restore the correct timeline. They succeed, and the episode ends with our SG-1 finding the videotape, and the ZPM, and realising happily that they don't need to fix anything – there may be fish in Jack's pond, but it's close enough._

 _ **Chapter warning:** Character death - sort of. If reading about death upsets you, don't read it. Otherwise, read on, and you'll see what I mean by the 'sort of'.  
_

 _ **Author's note:**_ _I need you to employ a little bit of suspension of disbelief for this chapter, as from a hard sci-fi perspective it doesn't really work. I sacrificed some science on the altar of shippyness. Apologies. The reasoning by which I'm claiming this as an actual episode tag is also a little tenuous, but it was a story that had been rattling around my head since writing the 'Its Good to be King' tag, and it needed writing, and since Moebius was right there, I've jumped on the excuse to add this tag to the series. Thank you so very much to everyone who reviewed! It is very much appreciated._

* * *

"Colonel." Jack said in greeting as he strolled into his fiancée's office. "I believe you requested my assistance."

Sam stood up, beaming at him. "I did indeed, General. Did you have a pleasant flight?"

"I did, but you know, you just can't get those little packets of peanuts on the Prometheus like you can on a commercial flight." He grouched.

Her eyes widened. "You used the Prometheus' Asgard transporters?" She asked incredulously. "I thought we agreed you weren't going to do that?" She added in an undertone.

"For _personal_ visits, yes." He agreed. "But this is a business trip. You officially requested my presence in a professional capacity." He answered smugly.

She grinned, shaking her head. "Fair enough. Are you free now?"

"I'm all yours." He said expansively.

She led him out of her office and through the winding corridors of Area 51's R&D department, now entirely under her command. Command looked good on her, he decided. She moved with a confident, authoritative grace that people couldn't help but respect and obey.

It was kinda sexy.

He stowed that thought away for later, and focussed on the job in hand. The R&D team had been working on the Ancient puddle jumper containing a fully functional time machine for months, and were still struggling with even basic functions like flying the thing a few feet off the ground. Almost everyone who had the Ancient gene and any sort of talent with Ancient technology had been sent to join the Atlantis expedition, leaving Area 51 without anyone fully capable of operating the ship. Jack, on the other hand, had shown an immediate talent with using the Ancient tech, and they even had evidence that he had successfully used both the ship and the time travel device, in the form of a videotape showing a recording of SG-1 some 5000 years in the past.

Sam had called him at the urging of her team working on the ship. They wanted to attach some sensors to his head, and monitor his brainwave patterns as he flew the ship, in order to identify what made him such a capable operator.

It got him out of the Pentagon for the day, and gave him an excuse to drop in on Sam, so Jack jumped at the chance.

"General O'Neill!" A tall, lanky man in a lab coat that Jack took for a scientist exclaimed the second he entered the hangar. "I'm Dr Friedman. I'm so glad you could come. This will be so useful, I can't begin to tell you …"

"The General's got a busy schedule, Doctor." Sam cut in. "Perhaps we could proceed with the tests."

 _God he loved that woman._

"Of course, Colonel Carter. General, if you would take a seat." Dr Friedman began attaching sensors to his temples, which trailed back to a suitcase-sized box.

"This will allow us to monitor your neurological activity remotely." The scientist explained. "We'll stay in radio contact, and ask you to perform a series of ship functions."

"Great." They finished hooking him up and handed him the box to carry. He hefted it, testing its weight, and then entered the puddle jumper, Sam and the doctor following close behind.

"You coming with?" He asked them both.

"Oh no, no, I'll be staying at the control booth where I can monitor your brain activity." Dr Friedman said, backing out of the puddle jumper. "Good luck, General."

He looked to Sam.

"I really shouldn't hang around, I've got a meeting in five minutes …" She said apologetically.

"Go. I'll be fine." He said with a smile, settling into the pilot's chair. "I won't break your favourite toy."

She walked over and leaned over him from behind, to whisper in his ear. "You better not. I've got plans for him, later."

He shivered pleasurably, and she patted his shoulder, leaving him to it.

* * *

Circling lazily at 30,000 feet in an invisible puddle jumper, Jack was almost bored. After each exercise the scientists had him perform, he had a good ten minutes with nothing to do but await further instructions. It wasn't like they were particularly interesting exercises either, just basic flight and systems operation.

He was more than a little shocked, therefore, when a new voice came over the radio, with a tentative request. "General, we'd like you to try activating, but _not_ using, the time travel device."

He blinked. He couldn't possibly have heard that right. "Say again?"

"Are you able to power up the time travel device? I repeat we don't want you to actually travel, we'd just like to know if you have access to its functions."

"Are we sure that's wise?" He asked.

"Just try it, please, General."

He sighed with a shake of his head, and closed his eyes. _Turn on the time travel device. Don't go anywhere. Power to the device, but stay right here._

It hummed to life. _Wow, that was easy._

"Ok. It's on." He reported back.

"Uh, thank you, General! Please hold."

' _Please hold'? Really?_ He thought scathingly. He huffed and looked back at the glowing time machine.

It had been so easy.

An idea, a crazy, terrible idea popped into his head. He couldn't. Carter would kill him. Twice, probably.

But it would be so easy …

He thought about it for a long few minutes.

"Aw hell." He said aloud. "It can't hurt to peek."

He closed his eyes, and concentrated.

* * *

He opened his eyes again. Well, the sky was still blue and cloudy. That told him precisely nothing.

He tilted the puddle jumper and wove it in a loose circle, activating the sensors and surveying the facility below.

 _Woah. Yeah, definitely not in 2005 anymore._

The landscape below had changed drastically, with many unfamiliar buildings built around or entirely supplanting the old ones. He couldn't even see the hangar he'd left from.

 _Ok. Moment of truth._

He took the puddle jumper up into orbit, and then angled back down towards Colorado Springs. This was an extreme long shot, he knew, but he hadn't exactly had time to formulate a complex plan.

He settled the puddle jumper down in as unobtrusive a place as he could, and made his way on foot to where he remembered Beth's house being, when he'd visited it with Sam in the year 2034. He wasn't entirely sure what year it was now, but he hoped it was close enough that she'd still live there.

He rang the doorbell, and waited tensely.

No answer.

"Damn it." He exclaimed. "Ok … what now. What now?"

He spun around in a circle, thinking. If he could just get in the house, he could probably use a computer or a telephone or something to contact one of them.

That was as good a plan as any. He went round the back, and inspected the rear door. He found a large rock, wrapped it in his jacket, and slammed it against the door lock, breaking the mechanism.

He was in. He'd apologise to Beth later, if he saw her. If not, he'd have to remember to buy her an especially good birthday present one year, to make up for it.

He had a look around, and was relieved to see that it all looked very familiar. He couldn't have landed too far off target, chronologically speaking. Not that he really had a target as such, he just wanted to arrive some time after their visit in 2034.

His feet took him to the living room, and the photographs he'd once stood and looked at with Sam. He grinned at the wedding photo. She didn't look any older in that one than she did right now in 2005. Good to know.

Suddenly there was a rush of wind behind him, and he found himself thrown against the wall, someone's weapon held against his head.

"Identify yourself!" A strong female voice demanded.

"Jack O'Neill." He said breathlessly, winded.

The pressure against his spine abruptly vanished, as did the weapon at his temple. "Dad?"

He spun around.

"Beth!" He exclaimed, looking at his tall, blonde daughter with an enormous grin.

"Dad!" She said, and fell into his arms, sobbing.

"Hey, what's the matter?" He asked, alarmed.

"I don't know how you're here or how you knew when to come, but _thank you_." She said, her voice muffled by tears and his shirt.

"Beth, what's going on?" He asked.

She looked up at him with a tear-soaked face. "It's Mom. She's dying."

He felt his stomach drop. _Oh God …_

* * *

Beth took him straight to the Air Force hospital at Peterson, and led him to a private ward.

"Jack?" A familiar voice said in a tone of incredulity, and he realised it was Daniel. An _elderly_ Daniel. _Wow._

"Hey Daniel." He said. There was an old woman beside him who he assumed must be his wife. "Ma'am."

"Beth, what's going on?" Daniel asked, eyes wide.

She shook her head. "I'll explain later."

She opened the door of the private room, and Jack followed her inside. Jake and Serena were sitting on either side of the hospital bed, and both exclaimed at his presence but were quickly shooed outside by Beth.

Jack only had eyes for the person in the bed. "Sam?"

"Hey Jack." She said weakly, her face splitting into a wide smile. "I knew you'd be back."

He sat down at her side in the chair Jake had vacated, and noted Beth had left and closed the door, leaving the two of them alone.

"What happened?" He asked.

"Lab accident, if you can believe that." Sam said with a chuckle. "I won't give you the details. You understand."

"Beth wouldn't even tell me the date." He said. "Does it really matter that much if I know what day you die, or how? I'm already long gone by this point, aren't I?"

She reached for his hand blindly, and he took hold of her hand in both of his. "It's not about you knowing. It's about what you might tell me."

"Oh." He looked at her, really looked. She looked exactly like his Sam … just thirty or so years older. In recent weeks as his Sam had settled into her command position, he'd even noticed that she was beginning to remind him of this older Sam. It was something about her poise, her attitude and demeanour in command, which was very reminiscent of the General.

This Sam, however, also looked weak, and drawn, and tired. "How long?" He asked.

"The doctors say it'll be hours, if that." She said, tears springing into her eyes. "You don't have to stay."

"I'm not going anywhere." He said thickly, emotions starting to choke him. "You hear me Carter? I'm not leaving you."

Her tears escaped down her cheeks, and he stroked them away tenderly. "Will you let my kids back in?"

He nodded and got up, opening the door and beckoning the others inside. He went back to the same seat at Sam's head, taking hold of her hand again, while Beth, Jake, Serena, Daniel and his wife gathered around.

"Where's Cassie?" He asked.

"She'll be back in a minute, she's just talking to the doctors." Daniel answered.

"How did you know to come?" Jake asked him, and Jack looked up at his son for a long moment, glad to see him again.

"I didn't, exactly. I just had an opportunity to come, and I figured, what the hell …"

"I apologise in advance for hitting you." Sam said with a weak chuckle. "Or maybe it's not in advance … maybe it's just very, very late …"

Jack blinked at her, surprised at the information that his Sam was going to thump him for this, and concerned at the slur in the General's voice. "Thanks for the warning."

She didn't answer. Jack looked around the room at the assembled family. He noticed that Serena did - as he had suspected she might - look a lot more like her mother than Daniel. He wondered idly who the woman who'd won Daniel's heart was, and then realised Serena was staring back at him.

"It's good to see you again." Serena said to him with a small smile.

"You too, kid." Jack said.

Cassie came in then, and went straight to Jack and hugged him tightly. "About time. I thought you weren't coming."

Jack was too confused to answer.

There was a beeping then from one of Sam's monitors, and Cassie ordered them all out. They congregated in the hallway outside, waiting, and after a few minutes Cassie emerged, crying.

"Jack, she wants you."

He squeezed her shoulder on the way past and went back into the room. He walked straight to Sam.

"Jack …" She said faintly.

He realised Cassie had disconnected Sam from all of the monitors around her bed, so he gathered her into his arms.

"I'm here." He said, tears forming and falling down his cheeks. "I'm here Sam, it's ok."

She sighed, snuggling into his chest, and then grew impossibly still.

She was gone.

* * *

Jack sat in the corridor a little while later, stunned. He knew his Sam was alive and well in 2005. He knew she'd outlive him by years. But he couldn't help but feel a deep bone-aching grief at having just held her in his arms as she died.

He looked around at the assembled family, and realised he probably shouldn't still be here. They didn't need a reminder of having lost him, too, at a time like this.

"I'm gonna go." He said, standing.

No one argued, although they all insisted on giving him a long hug goodbye – even Daniel's wife, whose name he wasn't even allowed to know. He took an especially long time saying goodbye to Beth and Jake. He hated to leave them at a time like this, but the truth was he'd left them a long time ago, when he'd died.

Daniel drove him back to the puddle jumper.

"I'm glad you were here." Daniel told him as they said goodbye outside the ship.

"So am I." Jack said. "Even though this wasn't exactly what I had in mind when I came."

"You can tell her she won't die alone. She'll take comfort in that, when you're gone."

Jack nodded. "Take care of them for me."

Daniel smiled. "I already have been. I don't intend to stop."

"Good." He said. "Good. I should …"

"Yeah, go."

Jack walked back to the puddle jumper.

"Oh, and Jack?" Daniel called, and Jack paused in the doorway. "When the time comes … I'll need you to yell at me and tell me to just marry her already."

Jack grinned. "You can count on it."

Daniel grinned back and waved goodbye, turning stiffly to walk back to his car. Jack watched his old friend walk away for a moment, and then closed the door of the ship behind him.

He sat down heavily in the pilot's seat, activating the invisibility cloak and taking a moment to gather his scattered wits.

A thought occurred to him. _I wish she'd told me exactly_ where _she's going to hit me._

* * *

30,000 feet above Area 51, Jack focussed very carefully on the exact time and date he wanted to get back to. The time machine pulsed, and his radio was suddenly alive with noise.

"I repeat, General O'Neill, please respond." That was Dr Feedman – Freeman? He couldn't remember.

He keyed his radio. "This is O'Neill. Apologies for that, ground control. Am I cleared to land?"

"You're cleared to land immediately." That was Sam's voice. She sounded pissed.

"Copy that." He said with a wince.

He guided the puddle jumper back to the hangar, and realised belatedly that he'd left his jacket in the future, in Beth's house, wrapped around the rock he'd used to break in with. Oops.

He opened the puddle jumper door, and sheepishly exited to face a very, very angry Lt. Col. Samantha Carter. He was so glad to see her that he wanted nothing more than to sweep her into his arms there and then, audience be damned, but the look on her face warned him that would be a very bad idea.

"What happened, General?" She said stiffly, obviously caught between needing to maintain some professional decorum in front of the scientists, and wanting very badly to beat the crap out of him for his singular act of stupidity.

"Little mishap with the time machine." He said. "Nothing to worry about."

"You _time travelled_?" The tall scientist with the forgettable name said, inserting himself unwisely into the standoff between the two Air Force officers.

"Just a little. It's probably not a good idea to activate that thing." He said, walking back into the puddle jumper and bringing out the box with the sensor leads he'd removed from his head.

"Where's your jacket, sir?" Sam asked coolly.

 _Busted._ "Uh …"

"General, if you don't mind, I'd like to make a full log of your experience when the time machine activated ..." The tall scientist said, but Sam cut him off.

"Perhaps the General and I should have a full debriefing first in my office." She said to the scientists, while her narrowed eyes never left Jack's.

"Right." Jack said. "Good idea. After you."

She turned on her heel and stalked off towards her office, and he followed close behind, trying not to look as though he was a kid being marched to the principal's office, and probably failing miserably.

In her office, she shut the door, and then leaned back against it. " _Tell me_ , that you didn't do that on purpose." She ordered him in a low and dangerous voice.

He resisted the urge to shield the more sensitive bits of his anatomy, and answered. "I would, but the thing is we agreed never to lie to each other."

Her eyes flashed with fire, and she walked right up to him, fists balled. "What the hell were you _thinking_ , Jack? You could have ruined _everything_!"

"I agree it was a stupid decision, but I'm not sorry I did it. And one day you won't be either."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means I was supposed to be there. I went to the future, after 2034. I don't know the exact date, or even the year. But I ended up being there when you died. I was there when you died. I held you –" And to his absolute horror, he realised he was crying. In his dress blues. On a military base. _Shit._

Sam threw her arms around him and held him.

"Oh my God." She breathed. " _Jack_."

He pulled himself together and cleared his throat. "Anyway. That's where I was. And I lost my jacket breaking into Beth's house."

Sam sighed and shook her head. "I should still beat the crap out of you for even thinking of doing that."

"Yeah. Actually, future you apologised for having hit me in the course of this conversation. I almost stopped on the way back here for some protective gear."

"Maybe I'll hit you the _next_ time you scare the hell out of me." She offered with a sardonic smile.

"Great. I'll look forward to it." He chuckled. "What are we going to say to those scientists? Feelman, whatever his name is?"

"Dr Friedman." Sam corrected absently, and thought for a moment. "They're the ones who asked you to activate the time machine, right?"

He nodded.

"Well … that was incredibly irresponsible thing for them to do, and I'll be making that very clear to them. You can just say that as the time machine was active, you accidentally travelled to the future. You realised what happened, and came back. They don't need to know you were gone for anything more than a few seconds."

"And my jacket?"

"You got too hot and stowed it in the ship's trash disposal thinking it was a cupboard. What do they care?" She said with a wry smile.

Jack let out a deep breath. "Ok. I can sell that."

Sam looked at him pensively.

"What?" He asked.

"I want to ask …"

"Go ahead."

"Was it …" She gave an exasperated sigh and tried again. "Was it painful? My death?"

Jack smiled sadly at her and pulled her close for a gentle hug. "No. Cassie had you on the good drugs. You were in the hospital. The kids were there."

Sam sniffed, emotional all of a sudden. "Ok. I'm glad."

He rubbed her back soothingly and breathed in her scent, glad for the chance to just hold her.

"I'm staying with you tonight." He informed her.

"Damn right you are." She agreed with a chuckle.

"Maybe I'll make it a long weekend. Work out of an office here tomorrow."

"I'd like that."

"I'll make some calls."

"Ok."

He pulled away enough to kiss her, and then smiled at her softly before heading for the door.

"Jack." She stopped him just before he opened it. She walked up to him and punched him in the upper arm, with a fair bit of force. "That's for scaring me."

"Ow." He grumbled, rubbing his arm.

"Wouldn't want to make myself a liar, now, would I?" She said, grinning.

"Smart-ass." He griped back fondly.

"Come on. You have some scientists to brief, and I have some scientists to yell at."

"As long as I get to have dinner with one scientist in particular tonight, I'm game."

"I'm sure Friedman will be touched." She joked.

"Funny, Carter. Very funny."

* * *

 _Thank you all again for the reviews, you guys are the best :-)_


	21. Intermission - The Wedding

**Intermission – The Wedding**

 _Author's note: The story continues … this is an intermission between Seasons 8 and 9. It's almost a tag for the first half of Season 9 Episode 1, but as I'm doing a separate tag for the start of Season 9, I'm calling this an intermission. Tags for Seasons 9 and 10 to follow from this point onwards._

* * *

Jack climbed the steps of his rented brownstone townhouse in Washington DC, fumbled the key as he let himself in, hung his uniform jacket messily on the stair banister, and flopped bonelessly onto the couch.

 _God, I hate this job._

He hated the politics, he hated the responsibility, he hated the politics, he hated being so far away from Carter and all the people he cared about, and did he mention he hated the politics?

Some days he had to have a hard look in the mirror and remind himself sternly of the many valid reasons Carter had given for why he should take this post, not least of which was the freedom to be with the ineffable Sam Carter herself. Today was one such day.

It was a Wednesday, and the weekend and Carter's pre-booked flight from Nevada seemed like an age away. He looked at his watch – she wouldn't be out of work yet, when you factored in the time difference, and her inability to ever leave on time. No point calling yet.

He could call Daniel, but he suspected after his call to the archaeologist yesterday that his regular after-work calls were starting to get annoying. He'd been accused – rather unfairly, he thought – of using Daniel as a stand-in for Sam while he waited for her to get out of work at Groom Lake. Couldn't a guy call his best friend without ulterior motives? _Honestly._

Instead, he pulled out his cell and started composing a ridiculously lengthy text message, for Sam to read when she got out of work. He started with a joke about the pencil-pushing blow-hard politician _du jour_ , and then a comment about how much better she would have been than him at dealing with today's nonsensical political crisis, and then a – hopefully _not_ sappy – comment about how much he was looking forward to Friday …

… and then he erased the whole thing, and replaced it with three words, and hit send.

He settled back on the couch and turned on the TV grinning. He kept his cell close – it would ring in a couple of hours.

* * *

Sam climbed the steps of her apartment building in Nevada, fumbled the key as she let herself in, hung her uniform jacket neatly on the hanger by the door, and flopped bonelessly onto the couch.

 _God, I hate this job._

She was pretty sure she didn't hate her job half as much as Jack hated his, but still. She missed her team. She missed the familiar corridors and personnel of the SGC. It was also taking some getting used to, spending so much time dealing with the bureaucracy of a command post rather than diving into the science and getting her hands dirty. And most of all, she missed Jack.

Some days she had to have a hard look in the mirror and remind herself sternly that while she may miss him terribly, living on opposite sides of the country but being _together_ was preferable to living ten minutes away and being forced to stay apart. Today was one such day.

She pulled out her cell, and checked her messages. There was usually one from Jack, but today she had several, and worked through them in turn, saving Jack's till last.

First was a message from Cassie …

 _10:41 Cassandra:_

 _Dinner 2moro at ur place? Need algebra help. Love u_

 _18:42 Sam:_

 _Absolutely. 19.30? Chinese or pizza? Love you too_

Then, annoyingly, yet another entreaty from the inordinately persistent Lt. Colonel Cameron Mitchell …

 _11:59 Cam Mitchell:_

 _Come back. Please. The guy I just interviewed for an SG-1 position had no personality at all. Literally, none. I'm losing my mind with this bullshit._

 _18:43 Sam:_

 _Have a little patience, you'll find good people. You got that list of recommendations I sent you, right?_

Then Daniel …

 _14:15 Daniel:_

 _Three weeks today!_

 _18:43 Sam:_

 _God, don't. I'm going to miss you sooo much. BTW, please would you tell Mitchell to stop bugging me to rejoin SG1?_

She got an immediate response to that one.

 _18:44 Daniel:_

 _No point. He won't stop bugging me either, and he knows how excited I am to go. 3 weeks!_

She chuckled and finally moved down to Jack's text.

 _16:32 Jack:_

 _Let's get married._

Her jaw dropped.

Sam looked at the ring glittering on her left hand, the blue stone almost matching her uniform. They'd been engaged since the beginning of their officially sanctioned relationship, but the subject of _when_ they'd marry hadn't yet come up. They'd been together only a short while, especially if you only counted the number of days they'd spent in the same geographical location, and they were still getting the hang of the transition from CO and 2IC to fiancé and fiancée. She still occasionally called him sir at wildly inappropriate moments, much to Jack's amusement. He used 'Sam' and 'Carter' pretty much interchangeably, but she couldn't bring herself to mind about that.

She pressed the call button, and waited tensely for the couple of seconds it took to connect. It didn't even get through one ring before he answered.

"Two hours and thirteen minutes. That's a hell of a long time to keep a guy hanging after he proposes, you know, Carter." He said chidingly by way of greeting.

"You know perfectly well I don't check my messages until I get home. And you proposed six weeks ago, if you recall."

"Mmm, I definitely recall." He said with a fond tone of reminiscence. "That was a fun night."

Sam smiled. Personally, she considered it to be the best night of her adult life, but she wouldn't say it aloud – that might put pressure on Jack to reciprocate, and as he had in the past both been married and a father … she figured their first night together probably only made his top five, at best. She wasn't jealous, it was just the way it was.

"So what exactly did you mean by 'Let's get married'?" She asked.

"You know … white gown, exchange of rings, vows, justice of the peace …"

"You mean set a date?"

"Well, yeah. How about Saturday?"

Sam blanched. " _This_ Saturday?" She squeaked.

"What do you think?"

"I think you've lost your mind."

"What's wrong with Saturday?" Jack griped.

"Where do I start?" She said, exasperated. "We can't get married in DC with three days notice, and our guests would need more notice than that, and I don't have time to go shopping for wedding stuff between now and my flight on Friday even if it was possible …"

"Alright, fine. So not this Saturday. But can we try and do it before Daniel leaves with the Daedalus?"

Sam sighed a little at the reminder of her friend's imminent departure. They'd already lost Teal'c to the Free Jaffa. To have Daniel leaving as well for an entirely different galaxy was almost too much to bear.

"Yeah, let's do it." She said softly.

"Really?" Jack sounded a little surprised.

"You're right, Daniel should be there. In Colorado Springs?"

"Yeah, I guess that makes most sense. No waiting period for the marriage license, and it's local for Daniel and Teal'c … if you discount the several thousand light-years between Dakara and Earth."

"Right." She chuckled.

"So … weekend after next?"

Sam thought for a long moment. She could probably finagle a day off between then and now to go dress shopping with Cassie. And if they weren't too picky about the venue …

"Alright, you're on."

"How _romantic_ , Carter." Jack said sarcastically.

She laughed.

* * *

Sam wrapped her coat around her body tightly as she got off the plane at Dulles. It was cooler here than it had been at Groom Lake. She swung her carry-on over her shoulder and made her way to the terminal, keeping an eye out for Jack. He didn't always manage to meet her at the airport, but given that they'd started planning their imminent wedding since last they saw each other …

There he was. He was out of uniform – as was she – and jogging towards her with the biggest grin on his face. God, he looked like a dream.

As he reached her she dropped her bag and flung her arms round his neck, kissing him enthusiastically. Someone nearby catcalled. She couldn't bring herself to care.

"Hey you." He said when they eventually parted.

"Hey yourself." She said, grinning.

She picked up her bag again, resisting his attempts to take it for her, and they headed out to his sensible sedan side by side. She wondered idly if he missed his truck as much as she missed her Indian, tucked away in storage in Colorado.

"I gather you told Cassie?" Jack said as they got into the car.

"Last night over dinner. We're going shopping for wedding things on Monday."

"She called me today. I didn't know it was possible for a human girl to reach that pitch with her voice." He said as he pulled the car out of the parking lot.

"She's pretty excited." Sam chuckled.

"How's she doing, generally?" Jack asked seriously.

Sam frowned. "Better. She's made a few new friends on her course, I think that's helping. And she's no longer failing algebra."

"Thanks to your excellent tutoring skills, no doubt."

"She has been working really hard." Sam said with a smile. "I'm very proud of her."

"I can't wait to see her next weekend." Jack said honestly. "And the guys."

"Me too. Have we heard back from Teal'c yet?"

"Yup, he and Bra'tac are coming. Rya'c can't make it."

"That's a shame. And General –"

"Hammond says he wouldn't miss it for the world." Jack said with an indulgent smile.

Sam grinned. "Jonas?"

"Also coming. What about your brother and his family?" Jack asked after a moment.

Sam sighed. "Mark griped a lot about it being so last minute and not having even met you yet, but he's agreed to come. He'll be alone though, Carol and the kids can't make it. Something about a dance recital."

Jack glanced at her, before returning his eyes to the road. "Have you decided whether you're going to ask him to give you away? If not, you know Hammond would be honoured to do it."

Sam sighed. Her conversation with Mark hadn't ended with them on the best of terms, but she knew her brother would be hurt if she asked anyone else to perform that role, even if she did consider General George Hammond to be an honorary uncle.

"You know what? I'm not going to ask anyone. This is the 21st century, no one owns me, no one is _giving_ me to you … I'm walking up the aisle with Cassie, and that's it."

Jack gave her a lopsided smile. "Fair enough."

Sam bit her lip for a moment. "Are we crazy to do this so fast?" She asked in a quiet voice.

"I don't think so." Jack said honestly. "We've been waiting for this for a long time, Sam."

"I know, but we've only been ' _together_ ' for a short time, and we don't even live with each other …"

"Hey, if we had jobs in the same state, we would." Jack countered. He frowned at her. "Are you actually worried about this, or are you just over-thinking?"

"Probably just over-thinking." Sam admitted. "I _want_ to marry you. I do. I just want to make sure we get it right, and that we don't sabotage ourselves by rushing anything."

Jack tapped the steering wheel in a tense pattern as he waited at a red light. "Carter … if you want to wait longer, it's ok."

Sam shook her head vigorously. "No, I don't think … I'm not saying I don't want to do it next weekend. I just wanted to talk about it, that's all."

"Well, for what it's worth, I don't think we're rushing the important stuff. We're rushing the ceremony arrangements, yes, but on a personal level I've been ready to marry you for a _really_ long time."

Sam smiled. "Me too."

"And …" He hesitated, wincing.

"And …?" She prompted.

"You know that stupid thing I did with the puddle jumper?"

"You mean that stupid thing you did where you unilaterally decided to time travel again with my second-most important R&D project?" She narrowed her eyes.

Jack looked sheepish. "Yeah, that."

"What about it?"

"I saw our wedding photo again, at Beth's house."

Sam gasped. " _Jack …_ "

"I know, I know, I shouldn't have looked. But … we looked exactly like we do right now. Even your hair was the same length. I think it's supposed to happen now."

Sam nodded. "Just don't tell me what my dress looks like. It would really take the fun out of my shopping trip with Cassie."

Jack smirked. " _Women._ "

Sam swatted him, and because she was Sam Carter, she did it with some force.

"Ow! Geez, Carter!"

"What were you saying about women, Jack?"

"Nothing, dearest." He said in a sickly sweet voice.

"Damn straight." She smirked.

* * *

Sam smoothed the white fabric over her slim waist as she twisted to see her reflection in the mirror. Cassie's enthusiasm for this outing was infectious, but the truth was Sam had never been very good at the girly clothes shopping routine.

"It's too … frumpy." Cassie commented over her shoulder.

Sam squinted at her reflection. "You think?"

"You need something sexier. Try this one instead." Cassie thrust an armful of poofy white softness at her as Sam gaped at her god-daughter's casual use of the word 'sexier'. Yikes.

"Go on." Cassie chivvied her.

"Yes ma'am." Sam saluted cheekily, and Cassie stuck out her tongue. She was still wearing the simple purple gown she'd picked out for her bridesmaid dress. Sam was very happy with the selection – it was young, but not too revealing, and classy. It made Cassie look beautiful. Janet would be so proud.

Her eyes misted up at that thought, and she looked heavenwards in the changing room, blinking rapidly. Cassie must not see her cry over thoughts of Janet today.

She stripped out of the 'frumpy' dress, and slipped into the 'sexier' selection.

Oh boy.

Nope.

She took it off again without even bothering to model it for Cassie. "I'm not wearing this one Cass. What's next?"

"Can't I at least see …?"

"No."

She heard Cassie sigh, and then she was passed another through the curtain. "Try this."

Sam slipped into it, fanning herself as she did. It was so damn hot in the changing room, and it felt like they'd been at this for hours.

The satin fell smoothly over her, and she cocked her head at her reflection. It was hard to tell for sure before it was done up in the back, something she couldn't do herself unfortunately, but this one actually looked very pretty …

"Can you do me up at the back?" Sam asked, exiting the changing cubicle.

Cassie went to work on the ribbon corset ties at the back, pulling tight with expert fingers. Sam watched her reflection in the full length mirror contemplatively as the dress took shape around her torso.

"Oh wow, Sam, I love it." Cassie breathed, moving around in front of her and brushing the material into place at her waist and hips.

"You think we have a winner?" Sam asked.

"You look beautiful. Jack's not going to know what hit him." Cassie said earnestly, and Sam smiled fondly, tucking a strand of Cassie's hair behind her ear.

"Thanks honey."

"Do you like it?"

Sam took another long look in the mirror. The skirt wasn't too poofy, it wasn't smothered in embroidery and beads, the neckline wasn't too low, but wasn't too high to hide her natural curves. It was elegant – simple, but beautiful. She loved it.

"I'm sold."

"Yes!" Cassie squealed. "Ok, get changed and we'll go pay. Oh, and we still need to buy you a veil."

"I'm not wearing a veil."

" _Sam …_ " Cassie whined.

"Flowers next."

"Fine." The teenager sulked, and Sam kissed her forehead affectionately. They might not have Janet, and Sam felt a familiar, dull ache for the absence of her own mother, but she was grateful beyond words to be able to share this with Cassie.

* * *

Daniel bounced on the balls of his feet as he stood at the bottom of the ramp, watching as the wormhole opened. The iris slid open a moment later, and through the stargate walked Teal'c and Bra'tac, right on time.

"Welcome back." He said, exchanging a forearm grip and pat on the back with Teal'c.

"It is good to see you, Daniel Jackson." Teal'c responded warmly.

"Bra'tac." Daniel greeted the old jaffa, who bowed his head in greeting.

"It is a joyous occasion indeed." Bra'tac said with a smile. Daniel's eyes widened and he put a hand up in warning.

"Let's go get the medical checks over with." He said, leading the pair out of the gate room, and away from prying eyes and ears.

Bra'tac looked confused, but followed Daniel silently with Teal'c.

In the elevator, Daniel embarked on explaining as quickly as he could about the need for discretion.

"Bra'tac, as far as anyone at the SGC knows, you're here just for a social call with the former members of SG-1. No one here knows about the wedding."

"I do not understand, why would such a thing be secret?"

"The Tau'ri military has strict rules about personal relationships between officers, and many in the upper echelons of power hold antiquated attitudes towards female officers in particular. If news of O'Neill and Colonel Carter's marriage were to become public knowledge, it may do harm to Colonel Carter's career and reputation." Teal'c explained.

"It's not that they're breaking any rules," Daniel was quick to add, "they have permission from the leader of our country who is the commander-in-chief of the military … but, if people knew …"

"I do not understand your people's ways, Dr Jackson. Colonel Carter is a great and formidable warrior and her skills would certainly not be lessened by marriage, especially to as worthy a match as O'Neill." Bra'tac said. "But, I will help you keep the secret, if that is what is best for Colonel Carter."

"Thank you." Daniel let out a breath of relief. "I appreciate it."

They exited the elevator, and headed for the infirmary.

"Teal'c!" Jonas Quinn hopped off a gurney, to the annoyance of the nurse who was about to draw blood, and clapped Teal'c's upper arm enthusiastically. "It's good to see you again."

"It is good to see you too, my friend. It has been some time."

"Mr Quinn?" The nurse called, and Jonas looked ruefully at the three of them.

"We'll catch up later?"

"Indeed."

An hour later, Daniel and Teal'c had coaxed Bra'tac into exchanging his jaffa robes for a simple suit, and the four of them headed out of the mountain.

Teal'c drove, Bra'tac sitting up front next to him as his former student offered commentary on the sights and sounds of planet Earth outside of Cheyenne Mountain. Jonas sat next to Daniel in the back, grinning as he looked out the window.

"Did you miss it?" Daniel asked.

"Oh yeah." Jonas said, nodding. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I love Kelowna and it's great being home, but the year I spent on Earth was great."

"What do you miss most?" Daniel asked curiously.

"Bananas." Jonas said immediately, without even thinking about it.

Daniel blinked and tried not to laugh. "Ba … bananas? Really?"

"There's nothing like them on Langara, at all." Jonas explained.

"Ok." _To each his own, I suppose._

After a short drive they pulled up outside a secluded hotel, and Jack met them at the door, greeting them all with enthusiasm, and accepting the congratulations deferentially.

"Nice job getting Bra'tac to wear the suit." Jack whispered to Daniel as he led them through the building.

"Teal'c should get most of the credit for that. And it wasn't easy, I can tell you."

"I bet."

Jack led them outside to a small lake, beside which was a cosy setup of a couple of rows of chairs, a podium, and a wedding arch. The officiator was sat behind the podium, going through his notes, and General Hammond rose from his seat to greet them. Mark Carter, who Daniel recognised from Jacob's funeral, was introduced to them more formally.

Daniel – as best man – positioned himself at Jack's side, as they all gravitated towards the seats.

"Is she ready?" He asked.

Jack cocked his head at him. "How would I know? I'm out here with you."

"I thought maybe Cassie might have passed a message or something … I mean, we did arrive five minutes late, technically. So she should be ready, right?"

"It's women and weddings, Daniel. Who the hell knows?"

He sounded tense, and Daniel grinned, patting Jack's shoulder affectionately. "Relax, Jack. You're marrying Sam, not storming a Goa'uld mothership."

"Easy for you to say." Jack muttered. Daniel thought it was rather adorable, that after all this time and all their collective history, Sam still had this affect on his best friend.

A lone violinist abruptly began to play, and Daniel – along with the small group of guests – all turned to see Cassie walk out of the building behind them, beaming, beautiful in her purple bridesmaid's dress, walking slowly down the aisle and then turning to watch as Sam followed.

"Wow." Daniel said. He was pretty sure Jack had stopped breathing. Sam looked incredible, and he felt a brief and shameful pang of jealousy towards Jack, before squashing it sternly.

Sam smiled shyly at the group of them, and then locked eyes with Jack, and it was if the rest of them ceased to exist. Daniel had to admit, he had been concerned when the pair had announced their intention to get married less than two months after the start of their relationship, for all that he selfishly wanted them to do it before his departure next week for Atlantis and the Pegasus galaxy, so he could be present. But, Jack and Sam had convinced him that this was right for them, and watching the way they were looking at each other now, he believed it.

The wedding ceremony was short and sweet, and the group clapped and cheered as the officiator declared them husband and wife, prompting Jack to take Sam in his arms and dip her for a scorching kiss.

"Alright flyboy, let me up." Sam chuckled when Jack had finished, and he righted her with a cocky grin.

The nine of them shared a meal together around one large round table in the hotel afterwards, a gloriously happy few hours that Daniel knew he would remember fondly for the rest of his life.

* * *

Sam laid her garment bag containing her wedding dress in the back of her car, and headed back to the hotel to finish off the reception and say goodbye to everyone in the much less cumbersome cocktail dress Cassie had helped her pick out.

She'd left the room with everyone still seated at the table, relaxed and chatting happily. As she re-entered the room however, the atmosphere had changed. Jack was sitting with his back to the table, and Hammond, Daniel, Teal'c, and Jonas were standing directly in front of him. Cassie, Mark, and Bra'tac stood off to one side, watching with bemused expressions. Jack raised an eyebrow at her and patted the seat beside him.

"Apparently there's a surprise." He said.

She frowned and perched nervously on the seat next to him, looking at the four standing in front of them. Hammond and Teal'c had excellent poker faces, but Daniel looked fit to burst and Jonas was grinning openly.

"We arranged a little wedding gift for you." Daniel said.

"It was General Hammond's idea, Daniel and Teal'c worked out the details, and I did the legwork contacting … well, I did some organising." Jonas explained.

"George? Care to share?" Jack prompted, as the younger men didn't seem inclined to elaborate.

"I knew getting concurrent blocks of leave was going to be difficult for you, especially given the short notice and the need for discretion, so I figured you probably weren't planning on going on a honeymoon immediately." Hammond started.

"No, it wasn't really going to work …" Jack agreed.

"So, Dr Jackson, Teal'c, Mr Quinn and myself made some arrangements for you."

"I don't understand sir, you arranged us some leave?" Sam asked.

"Not exactly." Hammond said, and nodded to Daniel to continue the explanation.

"Early tomorrow morning, Thor is going to request that the two of you go with him to provide some urgent assistance in an advisory capacity to the Asgard high council. He'll beam you up onto his ship, and then drop you off on P5R 881. He'll leave you there for a couple of weeks, and then bring you home." Daniel said, grinning widely.

Sam gasped.

"P5R 881 …" Jack repeated blankly. He looked to Sam. "Help me out here, Carter."

"SG-8 visited it a year ago. It's a peaceful, relatively advanced human settlement … SG-8 described it as –"

"The Swiss spa planet … lakes, mountains, _excellent_ hospitality … is that the one?"

"Yup." Daniel asked.

"Wow. Guys, I don't know what to say." Jack said honestly. "Thank you."

"God knows the two of you deserve a break." Hammond said warmly. "And this gives you some cover."

Sam stood and hugged him. "Thank you sir."

"You're very welcome Sam."

She hugged her ex-teammates too, kissing each of them on the cheek.

They looked at Jack. "I'm not kissing you, so don't get any ideas." He quipped. "But thanks." He clapped Teal'c and Jonas on the shoulder, one with each hand, and then gave Daniel a brief, rough hug.

The evening was over. Daniel drove the alien contingent back to the SGC, Mark, Cassie and General Hammond headed for the airport, and Sam and Jack were left alone at the hotel.

The next morning, at barely 0500, Sam and Jack found themselves beamed unceremoniously into the SGC briefing room (Sam thanked God she'd had the foresight to wear some respectably conservative pyjamas just in case Thor did something like this). Thor informed General Landry in his best commanding tone that he required General O'Neill and Colonel Carter's assistance for the next 15 days. A surprisingly detailed and convincing lie about the nature of the assistance required came out of the little Asgard's mouth, leaving the Generals Landry and O'Neill no choice but to agree. Not that Jack had had any intention of arguing, of course.

Thor returned them briefly to their homes to change clothes and pack bags, and then they held hands on the bridge of the Teal'c – Thor's latest ship – on their way to P5R 881, for two weeks of paradise.


	22. The Ties That Bind

**Season 9 – Episode 4: The Ties That Bind**

 _ **Episode summary:**_ _Vala removes the Goa'uld bond bracelets from herself and Daniel, and goes on her way. However, she and Daniel become sick, and she is forced to return. The bracelets' affect has remained even though they have been removed. They go to Dr Lee, who is stumped. They go to the technology expert Vala stole the bracelets from, who agrees to help them, if they return his mother's necklace that Vala also stole. They go through a chain of trade deals to try and get this back, only to discover that the technology expert cannot sever the bond between Daniel and Vala, but he theorises it will wear off on its own in time. Meanwhile, the chairman of the appropriations committee is choking off 70% of the SGC's funding, and Teal'c, Daniel, Vala and Landry go to try and convince him not to. They fail. To save their funding, they have to accept an IOA civilian taking a position of power in the SGC's day-to-day decision making._

 _ **Author's note:**_ _This tag is set during the episode, before the meeting with the Chairman of the Appropriations Committee._

* * *

"Thor! Buddy! _Great_ timing!" Jack exclaimed, very pleased that the Asgard had managed to – for once – transport them up to the ship exactly when they were ready for it, rather than – to take a recent example – at 5am the morning after his wedding night before he'd even woken up. Their bags had been packed, and they were dressed in their BDUs, ready to go.

"Did you enjoy your holiday?" Thor asked.

"It was great. _Thank you_." Jack said sincerely, hooking an arm around Sam's waist.

"We really appreciate your help Thor. We won't forget it." Sam added with a wide, happy smile.

Thor nodded. "Please stand ready. We will reach your solar system in a moment."

"Gotta love those Asgard hyper-drives." Jack muttered, and Sam agreed vehemently.

He turned to his wife – and he still hadn't gotten used to thinking of her in those terms – and pulled her into a loose hold against his chest, kissing her lightly.

"Ready to get back to reality?" He asked.

"I guess." She sighed.

He'd been impressed with her, in the last couple of weeks. He had worried that Sam _never-take-a-vacation_ Carter would go a little stir-crazy with fifteen days of relaxation on the quiet little backwater planet of P5R 881. But, to his amusement, she had put as much effort and determination into relaxing and enjoying their honeymoon as she would usually put into saving the world.

Sam looked up at him with her big, blue eyes, and he groaned and kissed her again. Going back to his empty house in DC was going to _suck_.

"I'm going to miss you." She whispered, reading his mind.

"Me too." He grumbled.

"We're going to have to do a lot more weekends together."

"Yup." He agreed with the sentiment, although he had doubts about the likelihood of the execution of that plan. Stuff happened, extra work got dumped on their desks, plans got cancelled … they were both very busy people. They'd just have to do the best they could, which is what they had been doing before they had gotten married.

"We have arrived." Thor said, blinking at them from his console.

"Just give us one more minute, would you please, Thor?" Jack asked.

He put his hands on either side of Sam's jaw, and kissed her, thoroughly and passionately. She moaned into his mouth a little and wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing against him.

He pulled back, and kissed her forehead lightly. "Ok. Reality time."

She withdrew her arms, and took a step back from him, and then another. She picked up one bag, and he picked up the other. They smiled ruefully at each other over a distance of three feet.

"Ok Thor. We're ready." He said resignedly.

"Thank you again." Sam added to the little alien.

"You are most welcome Colonel Carter." Thor said warmly. "I hope I will see you both again soon."

There was a flash, and suddenly they were in the briefing room, the airman on duty relaxing out of his startled weapon-draw at their sudden appearance.

"Oh General!" Jack called in a 'Honey I'm home' tone, causing Sam to wince at the informality.

Landry appeared in his office doorway. "Jack! Colonel Carter! Welcome back."

"Thank you Hank. I trust we didn't miss any massive intergalactic crises?"

He'd meant it as a flippant, off-hand remark, expecting a jovial reassurance that the world hadn't stopped functioning without them, but Landry's expression darkened. _Crap._

"Funny you should ask. Let's step into my office, you both should hear this."

* * *

A few hours later, Sam stepped out of General Landry's office with Jack, in a horrified daze.

"Two weeks. We were gone _two weeks_ , and Daniel got us a new evil all-powerful intergalactic enemy." She said in an awed whisper.

"Got to hand it to him, when he screws up, he screws up _big_."

"We're never going on vacation again." She declared. Jack looked at her askance, clearly trying to figure out if she was serious. She almost was. Two _goddamn_ weeks without a crisis. That's all she'd wanted.

"Let's go find him." Jack said, and she nodded and followed. A short walk and an elevator ride later, they cornered the man himself in his office.

"Hey!" Daniel exclaimed, and got up from his desk to hug Sam tightly, slapping Jack on the arm. "How was the … ' _Asgard advisory mission_ '?"

"It was great. Really great." Sam answered with a grin.

"Yes, lots of advising. _Excellent_ advising. In fact, I really wish we could go back and _advise_ some more, but Carter says we're never going 'advising' again after the rabbit you managed to pull out of your hat in our absence." Jack said.

Daniel winced. "You heard about that, huh?"

"Oh yes. Something about the Ancients' evil siblings launching a holy crusade against our entire galaxy?" Jack asked.

"More or less, yeah." Daniel agreed.

"I can't believe Dr Lee let you turn that communications device on without knowing what it would do." Sam said, shaking her head.

"We knew it was a communications device. We couldn't have known that the people we would communicate with would be so …"

"Evil? Fanatical? Nuts?" Jack offered.

Daniel canted his head in acknowledgement.

"For the moment, they haven't caused any actual harm here in the Milky Way." Daniel said. "They're just trying to convert people by word of mouth."

"But that's going to change at some point, right?" Jack surmised.

"Probably."

"We just got through beating the Goa'uld and the Replicators." Sam said tiredly.

"I know. And I hate to say it, but, the Ori … they could be worse. And harder to beat."

"Fantastic." Jack said sarcastically.

They stood in a heavy silence for a moment, all wondering from where they would find the energy to fight another galactic war.

"I need to get back to the Pentagon." Jack said with a sigh. "Landry said the Chairman of the Appropriations Committee is trying to choke off the SGC's funding. I have to go put out a few fires, do some damage control."

"Call me tonight?" Sam asked. He smiled softly at her.

"You bet."

He nudged her arm companionably, raised a hand in a half-hearted wave to Daniel, and left.

Sam sighed. _God, I miss him already. How pathetic is that?_

"So … since you're here … any chance you could help me out with my Vala problem?" Daniel asked hopefully.

"You mean the Goa'uld bracelet thing?" Sam asked. "General Landry said Dr Lee couldn't make any progress with that so you were consulting an off-world expert?"

"Sorta. We've hit a bit of a dead end on that front. In order to get the 'expert' to help us, we have to steal a specific cargo ship from –"

"The Lucian Alliance, yeah, Landry told us." She smiled sympathetically. "It sounds like Vala's a bit of a handful."

"Oh yes. That's putting it mildly."

"Well, I'll be happy to look over Dr Lee's research, but I can't hang around too long. I have to get back to Groom Lake, I didn't exactly plan for a two week vacation so there'll be a ton of work to catch up on."

"Any time you can spare." Daniel said gratefully.

"I'll go check in with him now."

* * *

"Hey." Sam greeted Dr Bill Lee as she reached the door of his lab. He looked up, and his eyes widened comically.

"Oh thank God you're back. I tell you, the Asgard's timing couldn't have been worse, we really needed you here the last couple of weeks, what with the Ancient communications device, and those damn Goa'uld bracelets …"

"Yeah, so I hear. That's actually why I'm stopping by, Daniel asked me to take a look at the research on those."

"Of course he did." Bill muttered, a little bitterly. "You know what he said? He said asking me to look into the problem was like 'scraping the bottom of the barrel'. Since Honduras I've considered Daniel a friend, and I know he was frustrated at being still connected to Vala, but _still_ , there's being frustrated and then there's just being rude."

Sam blinked, a little shocked. Maybe this was all affecting Daniel worse than she had thought. "I'm sorry Bill, I'll talk to him."

"Hmm, thanks. Well," he pushed a laptop towards her, "here's everything I've got on the bracelets. Have at it."

* * *

It didn't look good for there being a 'quick fix' for Daniel's bond to Vala, at least as far as Sam could see. Maybe the off-world expert would know more, or have some technology that she didn't, but she wasn't looking forward to telling Daniel that she didn't have a miracle solution.

 _Maybe miracle's not the best word to use, under the circumstances_ , she thought.

She knocked on the doorframe of Daniel's lab, and both he and a dark haired woman Sam hadn't met before, looked up.

"Hey Sam, any luck with the bracelets?" Daniel asked.

Sam winced. "I'm sorry Daniel. I agree with Dr Lee's assessment, there's really nothing we ourselves can do to sever the connection. In my opinion the bond will fade on its own in time, but … I'm sorry I can't see that there's anything I could do to help it along."

Daniel thumped his fist against his thigh. "Crap."

"Daniel, are you going to introduce me to your friend?" Vala asked sweetly.

Daniel sighed. "Sam this is Vala Mal Doran, Vala, Lieutenant Colonel Samantha Carter."

"So you're the one Daniel kept saying would be _so_ much better than Dr Lee." Vala said, looking her up and down appraisingly. "So much for that theory."

"Vala!" Daniel exclaimed in rebuke as Sam bristled.

"Actually, Daniel, can I have a word? In private?" Sam asked.

"Of course you can. Vala?" Daniel gave the dark haired woman a significantly look, and she sighed dramatically and headed for the door. On her way past Sam she put a hand on Sam's arm and whispered to her.

"No hard feelings darling, you're much more attractive than Dr Lee even if you can't improve on his research."

Sam's draw dropped open in shock and outrage, and she turned to watch the other woman leave. "Is she for real?" She asked Daniel after Vala had gone.

"I honestly haven't the faintest idea." Daniel said tiredly. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

Sam grimaced and steeled herself. "Bill."

Daniel frowned. "What about him?"

"Apparently you made a comment about 'scraping the bottom of the barrel'?" Sam said, skewering him with a look, eyebrows raised.

"It was a joke." Daniel said defensively.

"Well, he didn't take it as one, and frankly even if it was a joke, it was rude, and he didn't deserve it. Come on, Daniel, you know better than that. And I thought you two were friends?"

Daniel had the good grace to look a little shame-faced at that. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I'll apologise."

"Thank you."

"It's just, this whole situation has been …"

"I know it must have been tough." Sam sympathised. "Missing the Daedalus, worrying about the Ori, being stuck connected to Vala …"

"Yeah." He sighed. "Plus I think you've spoiled me over the years. I'm used to you being able to whip out a quick genius solution to this sort of problem, and Bill has this way of seeming utterly inept even when he's not."

"I'm sorry I couldn't do better for you this time."

"Well, at least you think it might wear off. That's a little bit of good news, I guess. I don't suppose you can give me a time frame on that?"

"Not without a lot more time spent on research, which I just don't have right now. I'm sorry Daniel, I really have to get back to Area 51. Bill can follow it up though."

"Ok." Daniel got up and gave her a hug. "I'm glad you're back."

Sam chuckled mirthlessly into his shoulder. "Yeah. Never going on vacation again."

"Just, maybe stay on Earth next time. Somewhere with cell service."

"You talk like it wasn't your idea for us to go off-world."

"Technically it was Hammond's."

Sam pulled back and smiled at him. "I'll see you around."

"Bye Sam."


	23. Beachhead

**Season 9 Episode 6 – Beachhead**

 _Episode summary: The Ori gain a foothold in on a jaffa-populated planet, when a Prior secures the stargate with a steadily expanding bubble of shielding. Sam is recalled to the SGC to help SG-1 deploy a Mark 9 naquadria enhanced nuclear warhead, in an attempt to destroy the gate and foil the Ori plot. However, the bomb instead feeds energy to the force field, as does the ensuing weapons fire from the Free Jaffa motherships. The Prometheus is forced to join in to prevent open hostilities with the jaffa, and the shield encompasses the planet. The planet's stargate emits blocks that form a massive stargate in orbit, and – when no one will listen to her – Vala rings aboard a cargo ship and pilots it into one of the blocks' positions in the forming stargate, preventing it from establishing a wormhole. The planet collapses into a singularity, and Vala uses the rings to escape the resulting explosion that destroys the Supergate and the cargo ship – but she doesn't appear back on the Prometheus. Sam theorises that she may have been pulled into the singularity, connected to the Ori galaxy._

* * *

Jack signed the last of the mountain of forms his secretary had put on his desk with a flourish, and sat back in his chair with a groan. His gaze drifted to the next paper mountain.

 _Nope. Lunch first._

He stood, stretching out his cramped muscles, and was just putting on his uniform jacket when his secretary put her head around the door.

"General, there's a Colonel here to see you without an appointment."

"I'm going to lunch, Wendy. Tell him to make an appointment for this afternoon."

"Ah, _she_ says –"

The diminutive woman was cut off abruptly when a slim, pale hand appeared above her head, pushing the door open wider to reveal his wife, Lt. Col. Samantha Carter.

"Oh." He blinked at her, fighting the urge to grin stupidly. "Wendy for future reference, Colonel Carter doesn't need an appointment. Ever."

Wendy looked a little confused, but nodded, and extracted herself from the doorway between the two officers. "Yes sir."

Sam stepped into his office, with an embarrassed little smile. "Sorry sir, I should have called ahead …"

"No, that's ok." He stood awkwardly in front of his desk, hating the dress blue uniforms they wore that prevented all but careful professional conversation. "So you're back from the Prometheus?"

"Since they were beaming us down to the surface from orbit anyway, I asked them to put me in the secure transport location in the Pentagon, rather than the SGC." Sam explained. "I, uh, I have something for you."

She thrust a manila envelope at him nervously, and he raised his eyebrows as he took it.

"What's this?"

"My official request for a transfer."

"Transfer?" He cocked his head. "SG-1?"

"We did talk about it before my temporary reassignment …" Sam trailed off, looking uncomfortable. "It's just, now that I've seen what the Ori and the Priors can do … I have to get back there and help. I talked to Cassie about it too before I left for this mission, and she's ok with it. She's doing much better now."

Jack nodded. He didn't like the idea of Sam being back on the front line on SG-1, but this wasn't a total surprise – they had discussed the possibility – and God knows the SGC needed her there.

"You realise this creates a little bit of a chain of command issue." He said, fingers smoothing over the edges of the envelope.

Sam looked at him with wide eyes. "The President's letter wasn't conditional on me leaving SG-1 …"

He cut her off with an inpatient wave of his hand. "Not between you and me. I'm talking about Mitchell. He's in command of SG-1, and you're the former commanding officer of SG-1. You're both Lieutenant Colonels. If I put you back on SG-1 … you see the problem."

"I think we can make it work." Sam said. "It's not like he hasn't been badgering me to come back since the moment he found out I was gone."

"So who's in command?" Jack asked.

"I suppose, technically, he is, since he's already in command now. But Cam's a good man, and he knows how to take advice. I'm confident he'd defer to me if the situation called for it."

"And you'd be ok with that? Going back to SG-1 effectively as the second-in-command after having spent a year as CO yourself?"

Sam shifted uncomfortably. "I'm not thrilled about it, but that's the way it is. I wouldn't be going back at all if it wasn't for the Ori, but I need to pitch in, and if this is the best way I can do it, then so be it."

Jack nodded. "Ok. If you're sure."

"I am."

"I'll put the transfer through." He cocked his head. "When do you head back to Nevada?"

"I haven't booked a flight yet." She admitted. "This was a bit of a spur of the moment thing."

"Stay tonight?"

"Sure." She smiled.

"Excellent." He grinned back. "Lunch?"

* * *

Late that night, Sam was curled against Jack's chest in bed, tense and utterly unable to sleep. She jumped in surprise when he suddenly spoke.

"What's the matter?"

"I thought you were asleep."

He opened his eyes. "I'm awake. What's the matter?"

She sighed, hiding her face in his chest. "I can't stop thinking about Vala."

Jack smirked. "Should I be jealous?"

"Jack." She admonished, swatting him. "It's just – she could be dead, or in danger in the Ori galaxy, and … well, did you ever see her?"

"No. Why?"

Sam stayed silent for a moment. "It might be nothing, I mean I might be reading too much into it or looking for things that aren't there, but … Jack, she looked like Serena. A lot."

Jack shifted under her, twisting to look her in the eye. "Seriously?"

Sam nodded.

"Daniel hates her."

"No, he doesn't." Sam argued. "She drove him nuts, yes, but she also flirted with him a lot, and Teal'c says Daniel was sometimes flirting back. Plus … you should have seen him on the Prometheus after we lost her, he looked really upset about it."

"So you think _Vala Mal Doran_ is the woman Daniel ends up marrying and having a kid with?"

"I think it's possible."

"Not if she's dead."

"She might not be."

"But the alternative to being dead is being lost in a very distant galaxy full of hostiles."

"Yes. Which is why I'm lying awake worrying about it."

Jack sighed. "There's nothing we can do about it though, right?"

"No." Sam acknowledged quietly.

"So … try not to worry about it. What will be, will be." He lay back, and pulled her back against his chest comfortably.

"Since when did you get so philosophical?" Sam teased.

"Since I got a copy of this picture of my own." He said, reaching to his nightstand for their wedding picture – the one the two of them had first seen over five years ago, on their accidental trip to 2034. "It's all working out the way it's supposed to, Sam. Just let it happen."

Sam snorted. "Ok, who are you and what have you done with Jack O'Neill?"

He shushed her and kissed her forehead. "Go to sleep, Carter."

"Yes sir."


	24. Deus Ex Machina

**Season 9 Episode 7: Deus Ex Machina**

 _Episode summary: A dead jaffa is found on Earth, and he is identified as being a follower of Gerak's, hunting Ba'al. Ba'al, who has been hiding out on Earth and is now posing as a businessman, gives an ultimatum. He gets left alone, or he sets off a naquada bomb somewhere in the United States. Gerak, however, has no intention of leaving Ba'al alone, or of ceasing his hunt for Ba'al on Earth, regardless of the potential fallout for the SGC or Earth. SG-1 enlist the help of Agent Malcolm Barrett to track Ba'al, in an attempt to capture him, but their attempt is compromised when Ba'al goes public with a corporate take-over plan and starts receiving a lot of media attention. During the op Barrett asks Sam if she's single, and she answers 'not exactly'. The jaffa get close to capturing Ba'al, who decides to take retribution, and informs the SGC that he will detonate the bomb. They find the building, and Sam realises that the brand new building itself is the bomb, and with seconds to spare the Prometheus beams the entire building into space to detonate at a safe distance. They use a 'gas explosion' cover story. A Ba'al is captured by Gerak's forces, cementing his hold on the jaffa council, but the SGC learn that Ba'al has cloning technology, and has been cloning himself. There are many of them now, free on Earth._

* * *

Sam drummed her fingers on her thigh anxiously. Come _on, pick up …_

"O'Neill." Jack barked.

"Hey, it's me." Sam said, brightening instantly now that she'd actually got through. She'd been trying his cell for the better part of the evening.

"Hey." He said with a big exhale. He sounded exhausted.

"Long day?" She asked.

"Meeting with the President. He wanted to know how the Department of Homeworld Security hadn't picked up on their being multiple Ba'al's running around the country for months."

Sam winced. "I suppose the answer that Ba'al is unusually smart for a Goa'uld didn't go over too well."

"We're supposed to be smarter." He snapped.

Sam flinched a little. _She_ was supposed to be smarter. "I'm sorry."

"No, I'm sorry, it's not your fault. I'm just pissed off."

"We'll get him – them. We know he's out there now, so we'll be watching for him."

"Yeah. That's what I told the President. I just hope Ba'al doesn't find another way to screw us over before we catch his multiple arrogant selves."

Sam frowned, drumming her fingers on her knee anxiously. "Are you ok?"

There was a telling silence. Jack had once been tortured for days by Ba'al. Having multiple copies of the Goa'uld running unchecked around his own country had to be causing him some stress.

"I'm fine." He said eventually. "Don't worry about me, Carter, just … find him."

"I'll do my best." She promised. "There's a special taskforce on it too, right?"

"Yeah, it's being headed up by the CIA agent, Kerry Johnson. She was the one dealing with the remnants of the Trust operation."

"We'll get him." She said reassuringly.

"Love you." Jack said, and Sam smiled at the incongruity of the statement.

"I love you too."

There was a beep in her ear, and she pulled the phone away for a moment.

"I'm sorry Jack, I have to go, I've got another call coming through on an SGC number."

"Go. I'll call you tomorrow."

"Ok. Bye."

She hung up, and picked up the other call.

"Colonel Carter."

"Hi Sam. It's Malcolm. Barrett – Malcolm Barrett."

Sam paused in surprise. "Hi, I'm sorry, I wasn't expecting it to be you, my caller ID said it was the SGC."

"Yeah, I'm calling from an empty office in the SGC, I've been here briefing General Landry."

"What can I do for you?" She asked.

He paused. "Nothing really, I just … what did you mean when you said you were 'not exactly' single?"

Sam groaned inwardly. _Crap._

"That I'm not single but didn't want to discuss the details." She said cagily.

"Oh. Ok, I'm sorry for bringing it up."

"No, I'm sorry Malcolm, it's just … I can't really talk about it."

"That's ok. So, I'm guessing there's no point in me asking if you want to grab some dinner?"

"It's 2300 hours." She said incredulously.

"Is it? Wow, that meeting ran long."

"But, even if it wasn't … it would be a no."

"No problem. Couldn't hurt to ask, right?"

"Right." There was a long moment of awkward silence, as Sam debated with herself.

"Listen, um, Malcolm …" She broke off, on the verge of chickening out.

"Sam …?"

"It's not that I'm not flattered, and I like you, I do, but, I should probably tell you …" Another pause. _When did I become such a coward?_

"Tell me what?"

"I'm married." She blurted out.

"Married?" Barrett sounded incredulous. "When did that happen?"

"Very recently. But, it's complicated, and I'm keeping it quiet, so I'd appreciate it if you kept it to yourself."

"Yeah, of course, I won't say a word."

"I just didn't want you hanging on thinking there was a chance one day I might …" She trailed off awkwardly.

"I wasn't going to sit around waiting and pining for you, Sam."

"I know. That's not what I meant." Except it sort of was. _I suck at this._

"Well, I have to finish this report, so … see you around."

"Yeah. Thanks for your help today."

"You too. Bye."

"Bye."

She hung up, and let her head fall against the wall with a thump. _God, that was awkward._


	25. Ripple Effect

**Season 9 Episode 13: Ripple Effect**

 _Episode summary: Another SG-1 arrive from an alternate reality … followed by another, and another … Sam realises that a black hole and some sort of massive energy burst at the exact moment that the first team's gate was dialled has caused teams from alternate realities to be diverted here. One of the teams that arrives is a little different, as it includes Dr Janet Fraiser and Martouf/Lantash. The Carter from the first alternate SG-1 comes to Sam with a possible solution, to stop any further alternate teams arriving, and the two SG-1s are sent on the Prometheus to carry out the plan. The alternate SG-1 however, have ulterior motives, and seize control of the ship. They had planned this all along, and now intend to go and steal the ZPM from Atlantis to take back to their own reality to power the Ancient weapon in Antarctica. Our SG-1 take back the ship, and Sam figures out how to send all the teams back, but doing exactly what the alternate Carter did to get here in the first place. The teams all go home. There is a sad goodbye between our SG-1, and Janet and Martouf._

* * *

Jack watched as Sam picked at her food, pushing it around the plate without actually eating anything. It was their six month anniversary, they were out for dinner in a fancy Washington DC restaurant, and she looked fantastic in a little black dress and the diamond earrings he'd given her. But she clearly wasn't happy, and that was a problem.

"I've said this to you in the past, but maybe you didn't believe me … food only works if you put it in your mouth. Pushing it around the plate doesn't count."

Sam gave him a strained smile in appreciation of the joke. "I guess I was a little distracted." She said, taking a bite of the salad.

"Thinking about work?" He guessed.

She nodded.

"You got all the alternate teams home safely, right? And the problem was fixed?"

Another nod. "Yeah, it's all sorted. They're all gone, and there won't be any new alternates coming through."

"So …?" He prompted.

"One of the teams … well, one of the teams had some familiar faces."

Jack blinked. "Maybe I missed something, but didn't _all_ the teams have familiar faces? Wasn't that the point?"

"I don't mean 'us', I mean …" She sighed. "Janet and Martouf."

"Oh." He winced in sympathy. "That must have been a little rough."

"Didn't you already know about that? From the report?"

"I guess I haven't reached that file yet. I got a report about every single team, I haven't had the time to go through all of them." He looked at her askance. "Did you talk to them?"

"Yes."

"And …?"

"And … and it was wonderful, and awful, and it hurts." She blinked rapidly as her eyes misted up. "I'm sorry, I know I'm supposed to be focussed on 'us' tonight, it's just …"

"It's ok, I get it."

Sam smiled sadly and nodded. Weirdly, he probably did.

"You wanna get out of here?" He asked.

"God yes. Can we?"

"Yeah, hang on, I'll go find a waiter and pay."

He flagged down a young man at the bar and paid their tab for the mostly uneaten meals, got Sam's coat, and put it over her shoulders when they met back at the door.

"Home?" He asked.

"Yes please."

He drove her back to his townhouse. Inside, she kicked off her heels, and kissed him fiercely. He smiled against her mouth and kissed back, letting her push him towards the bedroom. If this was how she wanted to deal with it, then who was he to argue?

Later, when they were curled up naked in bed, exhausted, he whispered into her hair.

"Do you think the other Carters went to 2034 too?"

"Maybe." Sam answered sleepily. "I didn't ask."

"Darn. Could have been interesting."

"It could have gotten really weird. I heard about a few being married or having babies, and I got the impression not all of them were with you."

Jack's hand stilled where it had been stroking the soft skin of her upper arm. "Really?"

"Like I said, it could have gotten weird if I'd started asking questions."

Jack shuddered. "Yeah, some things are best left alone." He thought for a long few moments. "But if you had to guess, who …?"

" _Jack_." She admonished, turning over in his arms to look at him. "It doesn't matter. In this universe I'm here with you, on our six month wedding anniversary, and I'm naked in your bed. You really want to argue about it?"

He grinned. "Nope."

"I didn't think so."

He kissed her, silently thanking whoever might care to listen for letting _this_ be his universe, and his Sam Carter.


	26. Off The Grid

**Season 9 Episode 14 – Off The Grid**

 _Episode summary: SG-1 are sent to covertly gather intel about a Lucian Alliance plot to hook entire planets' populations on a genetically engineered type of corn. Colonel Mitchell decides to try and gather some more intel by posing as a drug dealer attempting to secure a large supply from the Lucian Alliance. The rest of SG-1 protests, but he goes ahead with the plan, and is caught. SG-1 break him out, but their escape is hindered when the gate is beamed away. They are re-captured by the Lucian Alliance agent who believes they are responsible for the theft of the gate, and beats them to try and find out where the gate is. He is about to kill them when they are beamed out by the Odyssey. They then discover that Ba'al has been stealing multiple gates, and are sent on a mission to retrieve them. They successfully get aboard Ba'al's mothership and tag the gates, so the Odyssey can beam them out, and they escape through one of the gates seconds before the mothership is destroyed by the Lucian Alliance._

* * *

Sam's phone rang, and she finished typing her sentence before picking up. "Carter."

"Colonel, General O'Neill has just arrived, and he's looking for Lt. Col. Mitchell." Walter informed her.

 _Oh boy._

"Thanks Walter." She hung up.

Thank God for Walter – Sam wasn't entirely sure how the Chief Master Sergeant knew that Jack likely wanted to ream Cameron out for the events of their last mission, or how Walter knew that _she_ was the person to warn about it, but she was immensely grateful none-the-less.

She made a beeline for Cameron's office.

She got there just in time to see Jack bearing down on the office door, too far ahead for her to physically get in his way or warn Cam, and so she waylaid him with a shout. "General!"

Jack pulled up short. "Carter." His eyes seemed drawn to her split lip and the livid bruising on her left cheek. "I was just going to have a chat with Mitchell."

"I know sir." She caught up and inserted herself between him and the door. "I was rather hoping I could have a moment of your time first."

"This won't take long." Jack said, his tone neutral but his eyes flashing dangerously. "Out of my way, Carter."

 _Crap, that was an order._ "No sir."

He raised an eyebrow. " _No sir_?"

"I have something urgent to discuss with you privately before you speak with Colonel Mitchell. Sir." Hopefully their marriage vows would give him pause before he brought her up on insubordination charges. Still, he was going to be pissed at her for a while.

The door opened behind her, and she closed her eyes in defeat. _Stay out of this, Cam._

"General!" She felt the air shift behind her as Mitchell snapped to attention, surprised. "I wasn't expecting to see you sir."

"Oh really?" Jack asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Carter clearly was."

"Sam?" Cam asked her, confused.

"Go back inside, Colonel." She said in her best commanding tone. Ok, so she couldn't actually give him orders, but if he knew what was good for him, he'd follow this one.

He didn't. "What's going on?" Cam asked.

"Carter, I'm going to ask you again, and if I get another 'No sir', I'm going to be pissed. _Get out of my way._ "

Sam glared at her husband icily. He'd pay later for pulling rank on her, one way or another.

"Sorry Mitchell, I tried." She muttered to her friend, and stepped out from between him and Jack, her eyes never leaving Jack's.

"Inside Colonel." Jack ordered Cameron as he stalked past them both into the office, and the befuddled Colonel closed the door behind him.

Sam looked at the closed door, and settled in to wait. The yelling started less than a minute later.

* * *

Jack didn't look Sam in the eye when he left Mitchell's office; he just brushed past her moodily. Sam knocked tentatively on the doorframe in Mitchell's open doorway. The other Lieutenant Colonel had collapsed into his chair, his face turned skywards and covered with his hands.

"Sorry about that." She offered.

"You knew he was going to ream me out for the 'fake drug dealer' bit." He commented, straightening up and looking at her.

"I was pretty sure, yeah."

"Because I put his old team in danger."

"Yes." She sat down heavily in the seat opposite.

"Or … because I put _you_ in danger."

Sam stiffened. "Excuse me?"

"During the worst of the yelling he may have accidentally used the word 'Carter' in place of 'SG-1' or 'your teammates' a few times."

Sam slapped a hand to her forehead, covering her eyes. _Idiot._

"Cam …"

"Look, Sam, ordinarily I'd say it's none of my business. But I'd appreciate you levelling with me over whether I just got yelled at because I put my boss's girlfriend in danger."

"Wife." She said quietly.

Cam looked stunned. "What?"

"We got married six months ago. I'm his wife. No one here knows, other than Daniel, Teal'c and General Landry."

"Oh." Cam exhaled sharply. "Well, that explains that, then."

"He shouldn't have yelled at you because of his feelings for me. It was unprofessional."

"Well, I probably shouldn't have tried to pose as a drug dealer when my entire team was telling me it was a bad plan. I did nearly get us all killed, and my jaw still clicks when I chew." He said, poking his bruised cheek tentatively.

"To be honest, I would appreciate it if you paid a little more attention to my opinion on ops like these. I commanded SG-1 for a year, and I have nine years of off-world experience. I'm not trying to step on your toes here, but I need you to at least listen to my advice."

Cam nodded contritely. "Yeah. Ok."

"Ok. In that case, no hard feelings for getting us all beaten up and almost killed. It's far from the first time, and it won't be the last." She stood, giving him a wry smile.

He chuckled and canted his head in a quasi-nod. "Part of the fun, right?"

She snorted, and headed for the door. "You're as bad as Jack."

"I'll take that as a compliment." He called after her as she left.

* * *

Sam was angry enough that she didn't bother to check whether Jack was still on base before she left the mountain that evening, but the borrowed black SUV in her driveway indicated that he'd beaten her home.

She steeled herself before opening the front door. She didn't really have the energy for a fight, but she was far too angry to let it go.

The smell of cooking wafted from the kitchen, and she ventured towards it warily.

"It's almost ready." Jack said by way of greeting.

She said nothing, crossing her arms and staring at him.

"Can we please fight _after_ dinner?" He said. "I'm starving."

"Do you know why I'm pissed?" She asked.

Jack sighed. "I'll take that as a no. Yes, Sam, I know why you're pissed. Do you know why _I'm_ pissed?"

"I do, but I think your reason is stupid."

He looked at her sharply. "You think it's stupid for me to expect you to respect the chain of command at work?"

"No, I think it's stupid for you to use rank to win a personal disagreement."

Jack said nothing, but anger stiffened his posture. He attacked the food cooking in the frying pan viciously with the spatula, and then dumped it on plates, and set them on the table.

"Eat the food, Sam."

"Is that another order, _sir_?"

"Oh for crying out loud, _no_ , obviously it's not. When we're in uniform on the base, it's an order. When we're at home, it's not, as you _very_ well know."

They had a few moments of stand-off, and then Sam reluctantly conceded and sat down, picking up a knife and fork.

They ate in silence, and when they were done, Sam picked up the plates and dumped them in the sink before turning to him again.

"Mitchell now knows about us."

Jack swore softly. "My fault?"

"Ya think?" She said sarcastically.

"I know I was maybe a little harder on him than I should have been, because it was you he put in danger." Jack said.

Sam blinked, surprised. She hadn't expected him to admit that so readily.

"I knew you were going to be, that's why I was trying to stop you." Sam replied.

"I know."

"Ok."

"Ok."

They looked at each other warily.

"I'm still pissed at you for pulling rank." She informed him.

"And I'm still pissed at you for disobeying an order."

Sam nodded. "We're not going to solve this tonight, are we?"

"Probably not." He scrubbed a hand through his hair. "I'll sleep on the couch."

"No you won't, I'm not _that_ pissed." Sam said with an eye-roll.

Jack smirked. "Good to know."

"I'm gonna call Cassie."

"I have some work I could be doing."

Sam nodded, and left him to it, grabbing the phone and curling up on the couch for a catch-up with her goddaughter.

That night they went to bed in silence, but still held each other while they slept.

They'd be ok.


	27. The Scourge

**Season 9 Episode 15 – The Scourge**

 _Episode summary: SG-1's scheduled mission to explore some Ancient ruins is scrubbed at the last minute, and they are assigned instead to give four representatives of the IOA a tour of the Gamma site research station. However, one of the projects – an insect known as R75 – breaks containment and begins to overrun the base. SG-1 and the IOA representatives are forced to flee on foot. The Gamma site is destroyed when the self-destruct goes off, and Sam informs them that protocol is for the Odyssey to kill the bugs from orbit with a deadly neurotoxin – which would kill them as well. Their only chance is to get to a communications outpost so they can send a signal, letting the Odyssey know they are still alive. The signal attracts the bugs though, and they had very little ammunition remaining, and no idea of exactly when the Odyssey will arrive. They run out of ammo, and the Odyssey beams them out at the last second._

* * *

Sam's heart was pounding as her side-arm ammo finally ran out. She stood in a line with Daniel, Teal'c and Cameron, and she heard the clicks that signified her friends' clips emptying too. The bugs abruptly breached the surface, and rolled towards them like an immense, roiling, black wave. They stepped back instinctively, but there was nowhere to run.

And then, incredibly, unbelievably, they caught a lucky break, and the flash of the Asgard transporters enveloped them, depositing them on the bridge of the Odyssey.

"Yes!" She heard a familiar male voice exclaim, and her eyes snapped to Jack's. He was standing just in front of the ship commander's chair, and he was grinning, but his expression was tempered with a bone-crushing relief.

" _Nice_ timing." Daniel said effusively.

"Yeah, no kidding." Cameron agreed. "We had _just_ run out of ammo, General. A few seconds later and we would have been bug feed."

"Well, we couldn't have that." Jack said casually.

His eyes were pinned to hers. _That was too close._

She offered him a wry smirk. _I'm alive, aren't I?_

Woolsey broke the moment by stepping forward to talk with Jack on behalf of the IOA representatives, and Sam found herself ushered along with the rest of SG-1 to turn in their spent weapons, before reporting to the infirmary for medical checks.

In the infirmary, Jack was still being monopolised by the IOA representatives, but Sam could see him itching to get away from them and over to SG-1's quiet corner.

"I'd feel sorry for him, but I figure this is pretty good payback for him lumbering us with babysitting duty." Daniel said to her in an undertone, with a grin.

She smiled back. "Yep."

"It turned out to be a lot more fun than I was expecting, that's for sure." Cameron commented, earning a raised eyebrow from Teal'c.

"You are a very strange man, Colonel Mitchell."

"It's the adrenaline rush." He said, as if that explained everything. "Come on, I can't be the only one who digs a little high stakes danger?"

"Sam likes adrenaline rushes." Daniel offered helpfully.

"I like speed, and flying." Sam argued. "I don't like nearly getting eaten alive by insects." She shuddered. Not a good image. The sound of those bugs was going to haunt her nightmares for a while.

"Maybe I should go and rescue him." Daniel said contemplatively. "He's starting to look inpatient, and he keeps glancing at _you_. We don't want them getting the wrong idea."

"Or the right one." Cameron muttered, and Sam silenced him with a withering glare.

"Colonel Mitchell, perhaps you would accompany me to the bridge." Teal'c said, leaving no room for argument.

Cameron rolled his eyes. "Sure. Why not."

Sam, alone now as she perched on a gurney, watched as Daniel inserted himself smoothly into the conversation with the IOA reps. Jack found a window to leave a moment later, and with a glance in her direction he canted his head at the door, indicating she should follow.

Out in the hallway, she caught up to him, walking slowly in the direction of the bridge.

"Thanks for the rescue." She said, when he didn't speak.

He cocked his head in acknowledgement. "Obviously I knew you were alive, and I figured you'd find a way to get to safety and communicate your position. But … protocol CR91 …"

"Protocol was to dump a neurotoxin into the planet's atmosphere. It would have killed us."

"I didn't trust anyone else to give you every opportunity to signal for help, first. The IOA representatives being here helped. Gave me a plausible reason to wade in myself."

"Well, at least they were useful for something." Sam commented darkly.

He looked at her sharply at the uncharacteristically catty comment, and she squirmed a little. "Got on your nerves, did they?"

"I guess I was in a bad mood from the get go, and they kept alternately blaming us and bugging me to save them … maybe I was a little hard on them."

"Why were you in a bad mood?"

She raised an eyebrow at him archly. "Babysitting duty?"

Jack rolled his eyes. "That wasn't _actually_ my idea."

"But you signed off on it."

"We needed them on side. Showing off you guys seemed like an easy way to score a few points with them."

"Since when do you care about scoring points with politicians?"

"Since that became the main weapon I have in my arsenal to protect the SGC!" He said, snapping.

They had stopped walking and turned to face each other with Jack's last outburst, and they both abruptly remembered the security cameras and kept walking.

"So it wasn't about protecting me, after our near miss on the Lucian Alliance mission last week?"

Jack grimaced. "It certainly didn't dissuade me from thinking this was a good idea."

"Jack." She hissed in an undertone.

"I know, I know." He said tiredly. "It won't happen again."

"You have to trust me to take care of myself."

"I do."

"Because I swear to God, if you start using your authority to show me any favouritism or to protect me from anything, I'm divorcing you."

"I'll bear that in mind." Jack said with a smirk.

"I'm serious."

"I know." They got in an elevator, and as the doors closed, Jack grabbed hold of her hand. "I'm really glad you're ok."

She squeezed his hand. "Me too."

He released her hand a few seconds before the doors slid open again, and he entered the bridge, while Sam hung back at the door.

"Mitchell, get out of my chair."

"Sorry sir, just keeping it warm for you sir." He said, practically snapping to attention. "Do you have any orders, sir?"

Jack waved him out of the way irritatedly, and settled down in the chair himself, asking the officers on duty for status updates.

"Kiss ass." Sam teased in a whisper as Cameron walked over to her.

"I figure I'm still in the dog-house." He said. He looked at her askance. "Am I?"

"Nah, he forgave you." Sam assured him. "But stop sucking up to him, he hates that."

"Duly noted."

They walked a little way down the corridor to a window and watched the streaming stars of hyperspace for a moment.

"Did we get babysitting duty because I messed up on our last mission?" Mitchell asked after a moment.

"No." Sam answered shortly.

"Did we get babysitting duty because he was trying to protect you?"

Sam glared at him. "I should kick your ass for asking me that."

"Well did we?"

" _No_. It was a politics thing. We needed to score some points with the IOA ..."

"… and the Chinese government. Right. Sorry."

"So you should be." Sam huffed. No need to let Cameron know that he actually wasn't a million miles off-base. She'd reinforce that point again with Jack later.

"Kinda backfired, didn't it?"

Sam snorted. "Big time. You'd think General O'Neill would know from his years of experience with SG-1 that we don't play well with politicians and diplomats, and we attract trouble."

"At least we probably won't get babysitting duty in the future." Cam said optimistically.

"Yup." She grinned.

"Well, all's well that ends well, I guess."


	28. Crusade

**Season 9 Episode 19 – Crusade**

 _Episode summary: Vala uses the Ancient communications device to connect with Daniel, taking control of his body. She tells the team about her experience in the Ori galaxy in the last year. She is married, and pregnant, but the pregnancy is the work of the Ori. She married Tomin in order that the baby would be assumed to be his. The Ori have built massive ships to ferry their armies to the Milky Way galaxy. She made contact with the anti-Ori underground resistance, and they had tried to blow up the ships, but the detonation never occurred – the Ori had discovered the sabotage and fixed it. As a last resort they used the communication device to contact the SGC to warn them. The Ori have a working supergate somewhere in the Milky Way galaxy._

* * *

"General, I've got Lt. Col Carter on the line for you!"

Jack was halfway out the door – literally about to close it behind him – when his secretary called after him. He'd heard the phone ring, but had left anyway thinking whoever it was could leave him a message with Wendy.

He about-faced though, and walked past the little woman's desk and back into his office.

"Thanks Wendy."

He shut the office door behind him, and picked up the handset, pressing the flashing '1' button.

"Carter, what can I do for you on this fine day?" He asked genially.

"We have a problem – a big problem. We're about to deploy, and I don't have long, so I'll let General Landry fill you in on the details, but I just wanted to say, before we left, that I love you, and when I get back I want for us to start trying for a baby."

Jack did a remarkable impression of a goldfish and was inordinately grateful that no one was around to see it. He realised he had stopped breathing, and coughed out his held breath.

"Hello to you too." He said, somewhat sarcastically.

" _Jack_ …" Sam sounded exasperated.

"How dangerous is this mission you're deploying on?" He asked seriously.

"You remember the gate address we got from Merlin's device that shifts people out of phase."

"Vividly." He had not been pleased to get the call from Landry to say that his wife – and Mitchell – had disappeared without a trace.

"Well, supposedly that's where Merlin hid the weapon that could destroy Ancient beings, and we're going after it."

"I thought that mission was scheduled for tomorrow?" He asked, confused.

"We moved it up. Vala contacted us – she's alive by the way, and pregnant – and told us the Ori have managed to get a Supergate up and running in our galaxy, and are preparing to invade. We can't wait for tomorrow, we need an active defence now."

"Crap."

"Exactly." She sighed. "Anyway, I have to go, but I just wanted to say before I left …"

"That you wanted to start making babies?" Jack said with a chuckle.

"I know it's odd timing."

"No, no it makes perfect sense. There's nothing quite like imminent galactic peril to make a person take stock of their personal life." He cocked his head, frowning. "Did you say Vala's _pregnant_?"

"It's not Daniel's, if that's what you're thinking. Apparently the Ori impregnated her … it's complicated, and I don't have time to explain. I really have to go now."

"Ok. Be safe."

"I'll try. I love you."

"Love you too. And Sam?"

"Yes?"

"Let's do it. When you get back. The baby thing."

There was a pause, and Jack could practically hear Sam grinning.

"Go save the world." He said fondly.

"Yes sir."

She hung up, and Jack put the phone back in its cradle, smirking. Baby O'Neill. Yeah, it felt like it was time.

 _Wait …_

… _did she say the_ Ori _impregnated Vala? How would that even work?!_

He had to call Landry.


	29. Flesh and Blood

**Season 10 Episode 1 – Flesh and Blood**

 _Episode summary: Having failed to find the Sangraal amongst the treasures at Camelot, SG-1 are immediately launched into battle when the Ori supergate is discovered. Sam attempts to dial out before they can dial in, but fails, and she is stranded floating free in space in a spacesuit as the gate activates and the Ori ships come through. Daniel and Mitchell are aboard the Korelev, which is destroyed in the ensuing battle. Mitchell escapes in an F302, and Daniel escapes using the rings, ending up on an Ori ship. Teal'c is on a Lucian Alliance ship, which survives the battle but is then in a scuffle for control of the ship with the Lucian Alliance, who blame the Tau'ri for their own losses in the fight with the Ori and challenge them to give up the Odyssey. Mitchell recovers Sam from space. Bra'tac arrives with a ship, and the Lucian Alliance destroy their damaged ship. Teal'c is beamed aboard the Odyssey. Bra'tac, Teal'c, Mitchell and Carter follow the Ori ships to Chulak aboard Bra'tac's mothership. They attempt to destroy one of them by ringing a bomb aboard, but it fails, so Bra'tac plots a collision course. They are beamed away onto the Odyssey just before impact. Meanwhile, Vala has had her baby, who is declared the Orici. The girl, who Vala names Adria after her step-mother, starts growing very quickly, reaching teenage years by the time they reach Chulak. Daniel is aboard the same ship as Vala, having ringed there from the Korelev during the battle, and they attempt to stun Adria and kidnap her, but are interrupted and Vala is shot. Adria begins to heal Vala, and Daniel uses the distraction to stun Adria, and as he is beamed away by the Odyssey he grabs Vala to bring her with him._

* * *

The debriefing had been long, and painful. They'd lost a lot of allies, a lot of friends, in the Ori incursion, and they were lucky that any of SG-1 had survived, never mind all four of them plus Vala.

At the conclusion of the debriefing Jack had followed General Landry into his office for a wrap-up meeting, Sam and Cameron standing when the Generals had out of training and respect, and SG-1 looked at each other tiredly.

"I'm going home." Cameron announced. "You all should get some sleep."

"I'm gonna go check on Vala." Daniel said, and the two of them left.

Sam sank back into her seat. She'd been awake for nearly forty-eight hours, and was too exhausted to think.

"Would you like me to drive you home, Colonel Carter?" Teal'c asked gently.

Sam gave him a tired smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Thanks for the offer, but no, I'll just crash in base quarters. You should go and rest."

"Very well." He inclined his head to her, rose and left.

She closed her eyes briefly. Really, she'd rather wait for Jack and then go home with him, but she had no idea how long his meeting with Landry would last. If she went to base quarters, there was a chance she might not see him again before he headed back to Washington. Maybe she should have accepted Teal'c's offer …

The sound of a door opening had her jumping to her feet, realising she'd started to fall into a doze right there in her chair.

"Go home, Colonel." General Landry ordered from his doorway, and she nodded.

"Yes sir."

Jack approached her, and she tried to read his expression, utterly failing. _Wow, I must be tired._

"Come on Carter, I'll drive you." He said quietly. She sagged a little in relief and followed him out. They parted ways in the elevator when she got out at the locker room level to change, and fifteen minutes later she was sitting in the passenger seat of her own car as he drove them home. She'd protested half-heartedly about the potential issues of him being stuck without a car of his own to drive, but he waved her off with a perfectly reasonable explanation that she didn't quite have the energy to follow.

In the house, she flopped immediately into bed, barely aware of Jack setting himself up beside her with a cell phone and a laptop, and slept for eight hours straight.

* * *

Sam woke to the sound of the front door banging shut, and she sat straight up in bed with her heart pounding. Jack wasn't beside her anymore … was it him? Or an intruder?

She got up carefully and quietly, but relaxed when she heard Jack's distinctive rumbling mutter.

"Hey." She said, exiting the bedroom in her pyjamas.

"Good morning sunshine." He said teasingly. "Or should I say afternoon?"

"What?"

"Although in all fairness, it was about, oh, 0700 when you went to bed, so maybe I'll let you off for sleeping the day away."

"If it's the middle of the day, what are you doing here?" She asked, confused.

He pressed a cup of take-away coffee into her hands. "Lunch break."

She glanced at her clock. "It's 1500 hours."

"Late lunch break. We're all working on odd hours today, I was up all night and slept a little this morning with you."

She nodded. "Any news?"

"The Odyssey has landed at Area 51 for a refit and repairs. No sightings of the Ori ships again yet, but you can bet they'll turn up again soon."

"How's Vala?"

"Annoying the hell out of the nurses, apparently. She'll be fine, apparently the kid had mostly healed the wound already when Daniel shot her with the stunner."

Sam shivered. The way the Ori had used Vala to smuggle one of their own into the galaxy had horrified her, and she couldn't imagine what the other woman must be feeling right now. She'd also been more than a little chilled at Daniel's casual remark that he should have killed the child when he'd had the chance.

"Hey, are you ok?" Jack said, noticing her shudder. He took the coffee back out of her hands and put it down, drawing her close for a hug.

"I'm fine." She assured him, but accepted the embrace gladly. "I'm glad we all got back in one piece."

"Me too." He agreed fervently, kissing her temple. "Nice job."

She pulled back and kissed him, and then he released her and moved away with a smile, setting out some plates for their 'lunch'.

"You were right, by the way." He said suddenly.

"About what?"

He smirked wryly at her. "She does look a hell of a lot like Serena."

She grinned. "I told you."

"Daniel was with her when I stopped by earlier. I got the impression he's been hovering a bit. Maybe there _is_ something there."

"We shouldn't push them." Sam said warningly. "She's been through a lot, and Daniel's not exactly in the best place right now either."

"Do I look like cupid to you?"

"I'm just saying."

He passed her a sandwich, and she tucked in hungrily.

"So …" Jack said, after a few minutes of eating.

"So?"

"Should we talk about a certain phone call you made to me just before you left?"

Sam swallowed a bite and put the sandwich down. "You mean the one when I told you I wanted to start trying for a baby?"

"That would be the one." He said with a lightly teasing tone.

"I meant it." She said.

"I thought you probably did."

"I know we don't know exactly when Beth was born, but … it's 2006. We've got 28 years until 2034, and if I had to make a guess at Beth's age, I'd say she was between 26 and 28. That doesn't give us a huge amount of time."

"You realise that making a decision about when to have a baby based on how old that baby appeared in the future is kinda trippy?"

"Says the man who bought my engagement ring _way_ earlier than was appropriate just because he happened to see in a jewellery shop the ring he'd seen in the future."

Jack frowned at her, trying to follow that statement. "Yes?"

Sam grinned. "There's also the consideration of my age."

"You're healthier than most women in their twenties."

"That doesn't matter – I'm almost forty, and at some point I'm going to run out of eggs, and the older I get the greater the risk of complications in pregnancy. That's just the way it works."

"I still say we shouldn't freak out about this stuff. We know it's going to work out."

"I'm not freaking out about it, I'm just saying … we have to make the decision to start trying at some point. I think that should be now."

"And as I said on the phone … let's do it."

"Ok." She said, tapping the table. "So … we're officially trying to get pregnant."

"Yes we are." Jack said. "Wanna start right now?"

Sam grinned.


	30. Morpheus

**Season 10 Episode 2 – Morpheus**

 _Episode summary: SG-1 travel to Vagonbrei, one of the worlds Arthur was reported to have travelled to in his search for the Sangraal. The village is devoid of all life, human and animal. Daniel finds references to Morgan La Fay in the village library. They fall sick with the same sleeping sickness that killed the villagers, and have to stay awake while searching for a cure. A parasite has infested their brains and is feeding on melatonin. The excess production of melatonin is making them want to sleep. If they sleep, they will die of a brain ansurysm when the parasite grows too large. Teal'c and Mitchell notice a lizard living in Morgan La Fay's secret cave system, and they capture it, hoping its immunity to the sickness will provide them with a cure. Meanwhile, Vala has been undergoing a psychiatric evaluation to determine her mental state, and whether she is fit to be a serving member of the SGC. The SGC sends a medical team in hazmat gear just as Sam and Daniel are succumbing to the illness, and they put them in medical quarantine boxes, while Sam tries to explain that they can't fall asleep. Mitchell has collapsed in the cave system, while Teal'c has taken the lizard back to the village. We are left to assume that the SGC recovers the lizard and reverse engineers a cure in time to save SG-1. Vala passes her evaluation._

* * *

Sam woke up slowly, and then had a start when her memory started to come back. They weren't supposed to sleep, but there were men in hazmat suits trying to make them, and … a coffin?

She looked around. The infirmary. Not a coffin, then.

"Hello." Vala's voice drew Sam's attention to her right, where Vala was sitting on the other side of Daniel.

"What's going on?" Sam asked blearily, her voice croaky from disuse.

"They made up some sort of potion to fix you all and pumped it into your bloodstream." Vala said, indicating the IV attached to Sam's arm as she approached the bed.

"The parasite's gone?" Sam asked.

"Well, _dead_ anyway." Vala plopped down on the seat at Sam's bedside.

"You're the first to wake up. I would have bet a considerable amount on it being Teal'c." Vala said, sounding impressed.

Sam blinked slowly. She felt like she was thinking through mud.

"Probably something to do with Jolinar. Sedatives haven't worked properly on me since I was a host."

Vala looked shocked. " _You_ were a host?"

"A couple of times in the last eight years. Both times the symbiote died."

"Oh." Vala looked disturbed. "I didn't know that."

"It's not something I talk about much."

"No, I imagine not."

Sam winced in sympathy, well aware that however nightmarish her own experiences had been, Vala's possession by Qetesh had been much worse.

"So when do I get to meet Beth?" Vala asked suddenly.

Sam froze. "What?"

"You were talking in your sleep."

"I don't talk in my sleep."

"Well … you all were, a bit. Must have been a symptom of the cure. Daniel was talking about the Ancients, and said quite a bit in languages I didn't recognise. Teal'c was muttering about Apophis. Colonel Mitchell seemed to be having some sort of disturbing dream about his grandmother, and you kept asking for your _daughter_ , Beth."

 _Oh … crap._

"I don't have a daughter." Sam said tensely.

"Really? That's quite odd."

"Must have been a dream."

Vala cocked her head and looked at Sam speculatively. "That's ok." She said quietly. "I don't much want to talk about my daughter either."

Sam didn't know what to say to that.

Teal'c interrupted the awkward moment by waking in an explosive surge from his infirmary bed, and Vala trotted off to calm him down and reassure him as she had Sam.

Sam watched her do it, with a little sad smile. She thought that it almost seemed as though Vala was re-directing her mothering instincts to SG-1, and she was suddenly reminded forcefully of Janet Fraiser. It was strange, the two women didn't have much in common.

She lay her head back on the pillow with a sigh, resolving to call Cassie as soon as she could, and to make a conscious effort to befriend Vala.

* * *

They took Vala out for dinner, to celebrate her being made an official probationary member of the SGC. They went to O'Malley's bar and grill – Sam and Daniel exchanged concerned looks when they realised where Mitchell had driven them, but luckily they weren't prevented from entering.

The dinner was lovely, Vala had a great time – which of course was the point – and Sam resisted the urge to play pool with the guys in case that was enough to make a member of staff recognise her.

After a few more drinks than was probably sensible – at Vala's insistence – Sam found herself curled up in the corner of a booth with her head on the other woman's shoulder, watching the guys play her favourite bar game very, very badly.

"It's a bit tame, isn't it?" Vala was asking. "They're just gently hitting some little balls with some big sticks. Where's the excitement? Or the peril?"

"It's a game of skill." Sam explained in a mildly slurred voice. "It would look more interesting if I was playing. They all suck."

"And you can't play because …"

"Because the last time I played pool in this bar I drew a lot of attention to myself and then got banned for life. If I play and they recognise me I might get us all kicked out."

"Samantha Carter." Vala sounded shocked. "I didn't know you were that kind of girl."

"What kind of girl is that?"

"My kind." Vala grinned. "I think you and I could be very good friends."

Sam grinned back and patted Vala's head. "Ok."

"You're drunk." Vala informed her.

"A bit."

"Huh." Vala inspected the bottom of her mostly empty glass. "I thought this stuff wasn't affecting me because I was a host." She mouthed the last word, dropping her voice to barely a whisper.

"Really?" Sam asked, straightening up. "Maybe it's just your physiology is different because you're from another planet. Or maybe you're just really good at holding your liquor. Everyone's different."

Vala had raised her eyebrows at the 'other planet' comment.

"I thought we were supposed to not talk about that in public?"

"Talk about what? Alcohol?"

"Never mind." Vala smiled and shook her head.

"Well, it's definitely not the host thing, because I can still get drunk." Sam said happily.

"Clearly."

"I'm not that bad." Sam rolled her eyes.

Vala cocked her head and studied Sam speculatively.

"Samantha?"

"Hmm?"

"Who's Beth?"

"My daughter. In the future." Sam's eyes widened. "Oops. I wasn't supposed to tell you that."

Vala smiled widely. "Don't worry darling. I won't say a word."

* * *

Sam groaned as she woke up. She had the most awful hangover, and couldn't remember how she got home.

A lot of aspirin and a few glasses of water later, she called Mitchell. There was no point calling Daniel, if she was this bad, he would be comatose.

"What?" Mitchell answered grumpily.

"It's Sam. Are you hungover too?"

"No. Maybe. Yes. It's Vala's fault."

"Yeah, I'm blaming her too."

"We're not working today, right?"

"Nope, that's why we went out last night, remember? Hey, do you know how I got home?" She asked.

"Cab. You shared with me and Daniel. You don't remember?"

"No, I'm drawing a blank after the third Martini. What about Vala and Teal'c?"

"They were completely sober, both of them. Teal'c drove them back to the mountain."

"Yeah, apparently Vala can hold her liquor better than anybody I've ever met …" She trailed off as a particular conversation suddenly came back to her. "Oh crap."

"What?"

"I just remembered something. I have to go."

"What is it?"

"Nothing. See you Monday." She hung up and stared at the phone. _Did I really tell Vala about Beth? What else did I say? Crap!_

She showered and dressed quickly, and then drove to the mountain. She knocked on the door of Vala's quarters, relieved when Vala was in and awake.

"Good morning Samantha." Vala said brightly. "You look absolutely awful."

"Thanks." Sam replied sarcastically. "Vala … I don't remember everything that happened last night, but I do remember telling you something I shouldn't have, and I need to know how much I said."

"This is about Beth, I take it?" Vala said, smiling sweetly.

 _Damn, I didn't imagine it._ "Yes."

"Don't worry Colonel, you didn't say much at all. You just said that Beth is your daughter in the future."

"Ok, well, that's all I remember saying. Are you sure that was it?"

"Yep."

"Right. Good."

"I just have one question." Vala said.

"Just one?"

"How do you _know_ that in the future you'll have a daughter?"

Sam winced. "I can't really say."

"Some sort of secret prophecy thing?"

"I guess you could call it that."

"That's fascinating." Vala flopped down on the bed resting her head on her fists, looking up at Sam intently. "What else do you know about the future?"

"Nothing." Sam said firmly. "Absolutely nothing."

She stood up and headed for the door, making a mental note _never_ to get drunk around Vala again. Her head throbbed. _Or maybe I'll just never get drunk again period. That's probably a better plan._

"Oh Samantha?" Vala called.

Sam stopped at the door. "Yes?"

"I believe this belongs to you." Vala walked over to her and dropped a piece of paper in Sam's hand. Sam unfolded it, and her heart fell into her stomach as she looked at it. It was the printout of the picture of Beth, Jake and Serena that she kept in her wallet.

 _Oh, Holy Hannah …_

She looked at Vala, who was grinning at the expression on Sam's face. "Run along now."

Sam reached blindly backwards for the door handle, her eyes never leaving Vala's, feeling very unnerved.

 _Yeah. Never getting drunk again. Ever._


	31. The Pegasus Project

**Season 10 Episode 3 – The Pegasus Project**

 _Episode summary: SG-1 (minus Teal'c) travel to Atlantis aboard the Odyssey. Daniel wants to search the Ancient database for details about Castiana and Sahal, and Sam has a plan to try dialling the Ori supergate from the Pegasus galaxy, using a black hole, a stargate and a nuclear bomb. Daniel uses Atlantis' user interface, which manifests as a hologram of a Lantean woman called Gannos Laal, to search for details, Vala goes frustrated with Daniel's slow methods and convinces him to just ask the question straight out. He does, and is shocked when the hologram immediately gives him gate addresses for both worlds. This makes him suspicious, because it shouldn't have worked, and further questioning reveals that the hologram is actually an ascended being, Morgan La Fay. He tries to convince her to give them more information, but when she tries she is stopped by the other ascended beings and disappears. Meanwhile, with McKay's help, Sam's plan to connect to the Ori supergate works, although they end up doing it by detonating a bomb aboard an attacking Wraith ship. The unstable vortex as the Supergate activates destroys an Ori ship._

* * *

 _[ABOARD THE ODYSSEY, EN ROUTE TO ATLANTIS]_

Sam looked up from her calculations as Daniel frog-marched Vala into the room and deposited the raven-haired woman in a chair opposite Sam's workstation.

"Tag, you're it." He said to Sam with a forced smile, and fled the room.

"He's overreacting." Vala assured her, although she said it with a nervous glance in the direction of the doorway Daniel had just exited.

Sam sat back from her work with a sigh. She could use a break anyway. "What happened?"

"It was just a teeny tiny accident. No one was hurt – not seriously, anyway. Honestly, it's not like I intentionally _try_ to stop Daniel from reaching Atlantis, the first time I didn't know who Daniel even was, and the second time I didn't know how important Atlantis was to him."

Sam frowned. "You're not saying that we're going _back_ are you …?"

"No! That's my point, it was just an accident, everything's fine!"

"Perhaps you should start at the beginning."

Vala bit her lip. "I may have played a practical joke on Daniel involving a small electric shock and his personal coffee-maker."

"That doesn't sound like an accident."

"No, the accidental part was what happened next. He jumped backwards when the pot zapped him, and collided with Airman Johnson, who was carrying a big heavy crate … the doctor says we were lucky neither of them broke any bones."

Sam closed her eyes briefly and nodded. "Maybe you'd better steer clear of him for a while."

"Hmm." Vala twisted her body over the workstation to see Sam's screen. "What are you doing?"

"Re-checking the yield calculations."

"Haven't you already done that a couple of dozen times?"

Sam nodded tiredly. "Three weeks is a long time when you have nothing to do but check your own work and hope you haven't got it totally wrong. As much as I hate to say it, I'm looking forward to getting McKay's input. I need a second opinion."

"I'm sure you've got it right." Vala said. "I'm glad I'm not the only one getting bored on this tedious ship."

"I think we'll all be happy to get there." Sam agreed with a smile.

Vala jumped up. "Let's get some lunch. I hear they're serving something called 'Macaroni cheese'. Mitchell says it's to die for."

Sam's stomach rolled, and she clapped a hand to her mouth, squeezing her eyes shut. A moment later Vala's hands settled on Sam's shoulders.

"Samantha? What's wrong?"

Sam relaxed as the wave of nausea passed, and she let out the breath she'd been holding slowly. She looked speculatively at Vala. She needed to talk to someone.

"Can you keep a secret?"

Vala nodded earnestly.

"I think I might be pregnant."

* * *

In the first week aboard the Odyssey on their three week hike to the Pegasus galaxy, Sam had missed her period. She hadn't thought much of it at the time, putting it down to some sort of lingering after-effect of the sleep-inducing parasite they'd encountered on Vagonbrei, or the treatment developed to kill it.

Then the nausea had started, at the start of the third week.

Telling Vala was exactly the cathartic release Sam had been hoping for. Vala was exactly the right combination of cautiously excited for her, and sympathetic to the uncomfortable reality of early-pregnancy symptoms aboard a space-ship.

"You should go to the infirmary and get it confirmed." Vala said sagely as they discussed it over a cup of tea.

"Not yet." Sam said. "This ship's a bubble, if I go to the infirmary for a pregnancy test the entire crew will know in less than a day. If I _am_ pregnant, I want Jack to be one of the first people to know."

"But what if you're not and you have some sort of horrible virus that needs treatment?" Vala asked reasonably.

Sam smirked. "I'm not _that_ sick. It's just a bit of nausea."

"And the missed period."

"That could mean anything."

"Do your breasts hurt? Mine did when I was in the early stages." Vala said matter-of-factly.

Sam flushed at both the question and the reminder of Vala's less than pleasant experience in the not too distant past.

"A little, maybe."

"Are you tired?"

"Exhausted. Constantly."

"Well then, in my expert medical opinion," Vala winked, "you're probably pregnant."

Sam smiled ruefully. "Trust me to get into this mess when we're on a six week mission."

"It could be worse. At least we're not likely to get shot at on this mission."

"True." Sam conceded.

She looked at Vala uncomfortably for a moment. "Look, is this ok? My talking to you about this, I mean … I know it might be bringing back some bad memories …"

Vala waved her hands at Sam impatiently. "Don't be silly, it's fine. My situation was completely different. I'm happy for you."

Sam smiled and gave Vala's hand a squeeze. "Thank you."

"Hey! Maybe you could see the doctor in Atlantis, I bet he could confirm it for you."

Sam thought of Dr Carson Beckett, the softly spoken Scottish gentleman. Maybe that wasn't a bad idea.

"If there's time." She said.

* * *

Sam knocked tentatively on Carson Beckett's office door.

"Colonel Carter! What can I do for you?" He asked solicitously in his comforting Scottish accent, standing.

"I was wondering …" She faltered, not sure how best to put it.

"Colonel?" He asked with a concerned expression.

She shook her head and started again. "Can I ask you a hypothetical?"

"Ok." He agreed slowly, confused.

"Hypothetically, if a military officer who wasn't based in Atlantis, but was based in the SGC and was just here for a visit, wanted to have a quick medical test … would that person get back to the SGC before the results reached that person's commanding officer at Stargate Command?"

"Probably not – for that sort of thing any pertinent medical results would be forwarded in the next scheduled gate contact with Earth."

Sam winced. She'd been afraid of that. General Landry would know weeks before she'd get home, and of course he'd forward the information to Jack. That's not how she would want her husband to find out.

"And I don't suppose you would consider holding the results back for three weeks?"

"What's this about, love? Are you feeling alright?"

Sam held up a hand in reassurance. "I'm fine, really. I'm sorry to have wasted your time."

"Colonel …" Beckett stopped her with a hand on her arm. "Just tell me off the record, what's going on?"

Sam bit her lip, considering. It couldn't hurt to have a discussion off the record. "It was a pregnancy test, that's what I was going to ask for. But you would have to report the results immediately, right?"

"Yes, I'm afraid so. Would that be a problem?"

"If it's positive, I want to tell the father in person. If you reported the test results, he'd find out weeks before I would get home." She shook her head. "It's ok Doctor, it'll keep. I'll get tested when I get back to Earth."

"Wait, I have an idea." Beckett exited the office and went to a set of drawers on the far side of the infirmary. He pulled out a plastic-wrapped package and passed it to her. "It's a home test. You can do it yourself, with complete privacy."

"You don't have to report that you gave me this?" Sam checked.

"No, it's part of the discretionary supplies. We don't have to report who it goes to, just that it's been given out. As far as the records are concerned, it could have been given to any one of the fifty women in Atlantis right now."

Sam nodded. "Ok. Thank you Doctor."

"You're welcome, Colonel." He said with a warm smile. "And good luck."

* * *

Sam pushed at the food on her plate listlessly. They were eight days into their journey home, and she hadn't taken the test yet, had been afraid of the results, but she could think of almost nothing else. Daniel, sitting opposite her, was expounding again on the idiocy of the ascended Ancients in refusing to act even to defend themselves, working himself into a rage.

Cameron, sat beside her, had his head on the table. She wasn't sure if he was asleep or just trying to block out Daniel. She rubbed his back briefly. "Are you ok?"

"I'm beat." He said, sitting up and yawning. "I'm going to bed."

"Night."

Daniel had paused in his diatribe, and rested his chin on a fist moodily. "I hate this ship." He complained.

Sam smirked. "Why?"

"I either want to be in Atlantis doing more research or at home so we can start searching these two planets. This three week limbo is a nightmare."

"Tell me about it." Sam muttered. She was bored – they all were. On the way to Atlantis, they'd all had projects to occupy their attention, in preparation for the work they would do in Pegasus. Now … they were redundant until they got back to the Milky Way.

"You seem better." Daniel commented suddenly.

"What?"

"You're over that stomach bug."

"Oh." So he'd noticed the vomiting. It had eased off in the last week, which she was grateful for.

"I think Mitchell's coming down with it now." Daniel said. "I caught him puking his guts up after breakfast this morning."

Sam looked up at him sharply. There wasn't _actually_ a stomach bug going around, was there?

"I've gotta go do something." She said. "See you tomorrow."

"Ok."

* * *

Sam knocked on Vala's door firmly, and then did it again when there was no answer.

Vala opened the door looking dishevelled, her bushy black hair a mess, and her skimpy satin pyjamas twisted almost indecently.

"Samantha." She said with a tone of surprise.

"Sorry to wake you. Can I come in?"

"I was having a very pleasant dream." Vala said airily as she let Sam slip inside. "Is it morning?"

"No." Sam paced a little in the small space.

"What's that?" Vala asked, pointing at the plastic package in Sam's hand.

"It's a pregnancy test."

"Have you taken it?"

"No, not yet."

"Are you going to?"

Sam sat down, and looked at her friend. "Did you know there's a stomach bug going round?"

"Nope." Vala cocked her head. "Is that why Colonel Mitchell's been so moody the last couple of days?"

"Yeah, apparently he's got it. Vala – what if that's what I had? Maybe this 'pregnancy' thing was all in my head?"

Vala looked at her sympathetically. "I guess there's no way of knowing until you take that test. I take it that's why you're here?"

"Is that ok? I didn't want to do it alone."

"Of course darling. Go use my bathroom."

With a big, tense exhale, Sam went into Vala's bathroom and shut the door. She peed on the stick, washed her hands, and left the horrid little thing in the bathroom to go and sit with Vala in the bedroom area.

"Well?" Vala asked.

"I have to give it a few minutes."

Vala slipped her hand into Sam's and squeezed tightly. "Even if it's negative, if you want a baby that badly you could try again, right?"

Sam smiled at that – she realised she was being a little ridiculous. She actually knew for a fact that she would at some point in the next five years have two kids. It was silly to work herself up so much over one pregnancy test. "Yeah, you're right. Either way, it'll be fine."

The couple of minutes passed, and Sam reluctantly got up and went back to check.

One blue line. Not two. Not pregnant.

Just a stomach bug then.

She dropped the test in the trash can, and flopped onto Vala's bed with her hands over her face. Vala curled up next to her.

"I'm sorry sweetie."

"It's ok."

It would happen eventually.

* * *

A few days later, the stomach bug hit Vala in earnest, and she confined herself to her quarters in misery. Sam appointed herself Vala's caretaker, coaxing her into eating a little and making sure she kept drinking plenty, taking her temperature and dosing her with medicine.

She was on one such visit when she found Daniel sitting in Vala's quarters, watching the black-haired former thief sleep.

"Daniel?" Sam whispered.

Daniel looked a little disturbed. He got up and led Sam outside, down the corridor a little way and into a storage closet.

"What are we doing?" Sam asked, bemused, as Daniel shut the door behind them with a click.

"I think Vala's pregnant." Daniel said in an urgent undertone.

Sam flinched a little at the reminder of her recent humiliating episode. "What makes you think that?" She asked carefully.

"She's tired, and throwing up a lot …"

"She's got the stomach flu." Sam said, eyebrows raised.

"I found a pregnancy test in her trash can."

Oh. "You did?" She asked nervously.

"Yes. I didn't even know she was seeing anyone, did you? And it hasn't been that long since she had Adria …"

 _Crap._ There was no way out of this other than to tell him the truth.

"Daniel, Vala's not pregnant. She's just sick, like a dozen other people on this ship right now."

"But the pregnancy test …"

"It's not hers." Sam said.

Daniel frowned in confusion. "What?"

She looked at him significantly, and his eyes widened as he realised what she meant.

"It's _yours_?" He asked, scandalised.

"Yes. I took it in her bathroom a few days ago. I didn't want to do it on my own."

"You're _pregnant_?"

"No, it was negative."

"Oh." That took the wind out of his sails a bit. "I mean, uh, I'm sorry."

"Yeah, well, that's the way it goes sometimes."

"I didn't know you and Jack were trying."

Sam nodded. "Not getting any younger, you know?"

"Right." He stared at her with a funny little frown for a moment, and then opened his arms. "Come here."

She accepted the hug with a sigh. "It's ok." She said reassuringly.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I just … I missed a period on the outward journey, and then I started getting sick, so I thought maybe …"

"You thought it was morning sickness."

She nodded against his chest and pulled back with a wan smile. "I feel pretty stupid but other than that I'm fine."

"I can't believe I thought Vala was …"

Sam cocked her head and studied him. "It bothered you. That she might be."

"I guess."

"That's sweet." She teased him, punching him lightly on the arm.

He rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

Sam opened the door of the storage closet and stepped out into the hall. "I was going to sit with her a while, get her to eat something."

"I'll do it." Daniel said.

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

Sam smiled. "You're a good friend, Daniel."

Daniel smirked, and let himself back into Vala's quarters. Sam stood looking at the closed door for a moment, and then walked away.

So, maybe she wasn't pregnant with Beth right now, but they had time. And at least it seemed that Daniel and Vala were right on track.


	32. Uninvited

**Season 10 Episode 5 – Uninvited**

 _Episode summary: Landry has invited SG-1 to join him at General O'Neill's Minnesota cabin for some team bonding and R &R. Landry and Mitchell arrive on time, but Daniel is delayed in England when he discovers an Earl with a reference library of relevant information, and Teal'c, Sam and Vala are delayed at the SGC when a series of monster attacks require investigation. They discover that the alterations they made to the Sodan cloaking devices to make them safe for human use have had an unintended side-affect, and that a small parasitical creature is being brought into this dimension with their use. The parasite then enters another creature, and causes extreme mutation into a large and aggressive monster. Sam recalls all of the Sodan cloaking devices and realises one is missing. Meanwhile in Minnesota, a series of attacks believed to be the work of a grizzly bear are revealed to be another case of this monster mutation, due to the missing Sodan cloaking device being used by a Trust operative to spy on Landry and Mitchell. SG-1 and Landry work to hunt and kill the monster. It turns out there are two monsters, and they kill both. At the end of the episode, they have started their holiday at the cabin with a game of poker, and Teal'c makes a joke that it is obvious Sam is not much of a gambler. Sam takes offense and promptly bluffs him, winning the poker hand._

* * *

Sam still hadn't quite forgiven Teal'c for his comment about her gambling prowess – or lack thereof – and so she didn't feel the least bit guilty when he was relegated to the couch when they bunked down, on the first night of their enforced 'holiday' at Jack's cabin with General Landry.

It was a tight fit, five adults in the little three bedroom log cabin – it was a good thing Daniel had gotten absorbed by the Earl's library in England or it would have been even tighter. As it was, General Landry had taken Jack's room, Cameron had the single room, and she and Vala were sharing the twin-bed room. Teal'c got the couch.

It was weird, being here with Landry, Vala and Mitchell. She'd been here a handful of times, but apart from the first time when it had been herself, Jack, Daniel and Teal'c, it had always been just her and Jack, when they wanted some time away to themselves. Bringing all these other people up here felt a little like an invasion of her personal space.

She reached for her cellphone in the dark, and texted Jack. _Wish you were here._

He was clearly still up, as he texted back immediately. _It would be a bit crowded, wouldn't it?_

 _You'd probably have to share a bed with Landry._

 _Ugh, Carter, now I'm never going to sleep._

She giggled.

"What are you doing over there?" Vala asked.

Sam snapped her phone shut. "Sorry, I thought you were asleep."

"Texting your lover?" Vala asked, propping herself up on her elbows.

Sam flushed. "Don't call him that. He's my husband."

"Husband, lover … it's all the same really, isn't it?"

Sam rolled her eyes and lay on her back, staring at the ceiling.

Vala gasped suddenly. "This is _General O'Neill's_ cabin, isn't it? Isn't that what General Landry said?"

"Yes …" Sam said slowly, wondering where Vala was going with this.

"And you are his wife."

"What's your point?"

"Only that I just realised General Landry is effectively sleeping in your marital bed. Where you've had lots of sex with your _husband_."

Sam groaned and pulled a pillow over her face. "Vala, _please_ stop talking."

"Well, you can hardly pretend that you don't have sex with him, considering your little pregnancy scare on the Odyssey."

"You're still talking."

"Ooh, I wonder where else in the cabin you've done it with him? In here? In the _living room_?"

Clearly telling Vala to shut up wasn't going to work. Sam threw the pillow at her instead.

"Why Colonel Carter, I am positively scandalised." Vala said in a falsely prim voice.

The door suddenly opened, and Mitchell was standing in the doorway in his grey Air Force t-shirt and boxers. "You two realise that these walls are paper thin and we can hear _every_ word you're saying out here, right?"

Sam groaned again and pulled the duvet over her head. "I'm just going to curl up and die now."

"Drama queen." Vala said dismissively. "Mitchell, it's impolite to linger in a lady's doorway. Either come in or get out."

"Can I trade rooms with you?" Sam asked Cam desperately.

Mitchell chuckled. "Not a chance in hell. Night Sam."

* * *

Sam went for a run the next morning. A long run. Frankly she was giving serious consideration to just running all the way back to Colorado rather than facing the three men back at the cabin.

When she eventually went back, she ducked straight into the shower, and then took her time getting dressed in her room. On emerging, she found Mitchell and Teal'c playing cards in the living room. Vala and Landry were nowhere to be seen.

" _Good_ morning." Mitchell said, a note of teasing in his voice that made her flush red right to the roots of her hair.

She sat down beside Teal'c sullenly. "Where are the others?"

"Landry took Vala out bird-watching or something."

"Did you sleep well, Colonel Carter?" Teal'c asked solicitously.

Sam scowled. "Not particularly."

"Relax, Sam, we all know Vala was just yanking your chain."

Sam groaned. " _Please_ tell me that General Landry didn't hear what she was saying."

"I think he was probably asleep." Cam said.

"Thank God." She whispered.

"What I wanted to know though, was what was that Vala was saying about you having a _pregnancy_ scare on the Odyssey?" Cameron turned away from the card game to look her in the eye.

She shifted uncomfortably, as Teal'c aimed a level gaze at her as well. "There's nothing more to it than that. There was a short time on the trip to Atlantis when I thought I might be pregnant, and then I did a test and it was negative. No big deal."

Cameron raised his eyebrows. "No big deal? We're fighting a war here, Sam. If you're trying to make babies I think I have a right to know."

 _A right to know?_ "Go to hell." She snapped icily, and jumped up, stalking back outside.

"Sam." Cam had come after her. "Sam, will you wait up? I'm sorry."

She stopped walking with a sigh, and he caught up to her, coming round to stand in front of her.

"Maybe I could have worded that better." He admitted. "But you get what I'm saying, right?"

"You think I'm being selfish."

"I think we have a job to do. I need to know where your priorities lie."

Sam shook her head. "This is different for you than it is for me, and Daniel and Teal'c. You've been here a year, we've been doing this for ten. Your perspective changes when you've been fighting as long as we have. We fought for eight years to defeat the Goa'uld. What the hell were we doing it for if not for the freedom to live our lives at the end of it?"

"The war isn't over."

"Maybe my war is."

Mitchell looked stunned. "You don't mean that."

"I'm thirty-nine, Cam. It's now or never for me. Are you saying you think I should give up on the chance to ever have a family because you pulled me back into another God-damn war?"

"That's not fair."

She looked away, contrite. "You're right, I'm sorry. It's not your fault."

"Are you thinking about quitting?" He asked quietly.

Sam sighed. "Not at the moment. But if I do get pregnant …"

"And you are … you know, _trying_ to?"

"Yes." She admitted. "But as you know, Jack and I live on opposite sides of the country ninety percent of the time, so there's no guarantee it will happen any time soon."

Cam sighed and walked away a few paces.

"If we lose you from this fight … it's going to be a big loss."

"Cam, even if I do get pregnant, I'm not planning on retiring – just taking a step back from the front line. I'll still be around to help come up with technologies and strategies for the war."

He nodded, and turned back to face her. "Well, I can't say I'm particularly happy about the idea … but given everything you've done to protect the planet in the last ten years, I guess I can't begrudge you a chance at a family, if that's what you really want."

" … Thanks?" Sam said.

He rolled his eyes, and held out a hand. "Truce?"

"Truce." She smiled.

"Just … please tell me you never had sex with General O'Neill on that couch."

Sam gave him a wicked smile, and walked back towards the cabin.

"Sam!"

* * *

Sam helped Cameron cook dinner for them all that evening, supervised by General Landry. The General seemed to find it hilariously funny that she was a lousy cook, but she was necessary to the proceedings if only because no one else could figure out the bizarre organisational system of Jack's kitchen. She had been here enough that she just knew where everything was already.

That fact did seem to bother Landry a little, although she wasn't sure why.

"Mitchell! Don't put too much basil in that sauce!" Landry ordered urgently, getting up from his supervisory perch to seize the offending basil jar.

"It brings out the flavour, sir! It's how my grandma makes it!"

Sam hid a snort of laughter. It did seem as though the few days Cam and Landry had spent alone had helped them bond a tiny bit, against the odds.

"Sam, where's the colander?" Cam asked suddenly, poking at the spaghetti.

"Here. Excuse me, sir." She stood next to General Landry and the sauce pot to reach for the colander on the top of the cupboard above his head, passing it to Cam.

Landry put the wooden spoon back in the pot and gave her a speculative look. "I'm gonna go tell Teal'c and Vala it's ready." He said, before leaving the room.

Sam watched him go anxiously. "Are you sure he was asleep last night?" Sam asked Cameron in an undertone.

"He was snoring. So … yeah, pretty sure."

"He keeps giving me weird looks."

"You know, Sam, it's possible he's figured out for himself that it's your bed he's sleeping in. Maybe it's freaking him out."

Sam bit her lip, thinking.

"It probably doesn't help that you obviously know this place like the back of your hand." Cam added.

Sam rolled her eyes. "What's wrong with knowing where stuff is?"

"It's a reminder that you've been here a lot, which is a reminder that you're married to General Landry's boss. It's not exactly … conventional."

"This trip was his idea." Sam muttered.

"You're pretty good at not drawing any attention to your relationship with General O'Neill at work, even when he's physically there. Maybe he hadn't given it much thought before now."

She hummed an acknowledgement and looked at her feet. Cam ordered her back to work putting the spaghetti on plates.

"Don't worry about it Sam. We're only here a few more days, right?"

"And there's no chance we can organise a galactic emergency to pull us away sooner?" She was joking – mostly.

"If wishes were horses." Cam drawled, and followed behind her with the sauce pot, completing the plates of food.

* * *

There was another storm that night, and the power cut out again.

When Sam got up in the morning, Teal'c calmly informed her that General Landry was attempting to activate the backup generator in the basement. Sam's eyes widened, and she immediately headed down there.

"Sir?" She called, shining a flashlight down the stairs.

"Colonel! Where's the damn 'on' switch for this thing?"

"Sir, don't touch the generator! It's … well I've made a lot of modifications."

He looked startled at this news. "Is it dangerous?"

"It could be if you don't know what you're doing." She opened the cupboard at the side where she'd installed the power monitors and controls, and Landry stared in bewilderment at the array of blinky lights.

"Are you trying to power the cabin, or a secret base?" He asked incredulously.

"Sometimes I get bored up here." She admitted with a smile over her shoulder, flicking some switches, and turning some dials, and finally throwing a breaker and flooding the room with light.

"That should see us through for a couple of days, if we need it." She said, dusting off her hands on her jeans.

Landry was giving her that speculative look again.

"Sir? Is everything alright?" She asked nervously.

"You've been up here a lot." He stated in a matter-of-fact tone of voice.

"Uh … yes sir."

"With Jack."

"It's his cabin." She pointed out.

"Sometimes I forget that you two are … well …"

"Married, sir?"

"Yes."

She shifted awkwardly on her feet. "I'm sorry if that makes you uncomfortable, sir."

"You know what? It does. But not for the reason you'd think."

Sam blinked, confused. "Sir?"

"I admit that when Jack first told me that the two of you were married, I had concerns about the integrity of the chain of command. But as I got to know the two of you, I realised you were both far too professional to ever let your personal life get in the way of your jobs."

Sam nodded. "Yes sir."

"But the thing is, you're both so damn professional about it that most of the time I forget the relationship is even there. So I end up doing a damn fool thing like inviting you up to your own cabin on holiday."

 _Oh, wow._ "I don't really consider it to be 'my' cabin, sir. It's Jack's."

"It also occurred to me that I monopolised your bedroom."

 _Not touching that one with a ten foot pole._

"You know there's a photo of the two of you on your wedding day on the nightstand?"

"Yes sir." She'd put it there.

"And there's a framed bit of paper on the wall that says 'Marry me'."

She grinned. She'd put that there, too.

"That's how he proposed." She admitted. "He did it the first time I came up here, after he was transferred to the Pentagon."

"I'm just a little bit concerned that one day SG-1 will bite off more than it can chew, and I'm going to end up informing the Head of Homeworld Security about the loss of SG-1, without remembering that I'm also informing a man about the loss of his wife."

Sam felt that one in her gut. "We know the risks, sir."

Landry sighed. "Well, I guess all I can do is trust you all to continue being so relentlessly brilliant at your jobs."

She smiled nervously. "We do our best sir."

He chuckled and shooed her up the stairs ahead of him.

"That you do, Colonel. That you do."


	33. Momento Mori

**Season 10 Episode 8 – Momento Mori**

 _ **Episode summary:**_ _Daniel takes Vala out for dinner at a fancy restaurant, as a thank you to her for working so hard and proving him right for asking Landry to trust her. When Vala goes to the bathroom, she is drugged and kidnapped. Charlotte Mayfield, a previous crony of Ba'al's and now infested with the goa'uld Athena, questions Vala using a memory recall device. However, when the SGC attempt to rescue Vala, there is an overload in the device and Vala is left with amnesia. SG-1 searches for her, and they get a lead when Vala is taken into a police station as a witness to an armed robbery. Imposters take Vala before SG-1 can get there, and SG-1 pursue. They end up catching up to her in a warehouse, and Daniel convinces a confused Vala – who has started remembering bits and pieces – to trust him and come back with them._

 _ **Author's note:**_ _I have written an episode tag for the Our Legacy series for Episode 9: Company of Thieves. However, I am posting that one as a separate story (i.e. not as a chapter in this story) because it gets an M rating, whereas this story is a T. It's not essential to the Our Legacy series, and it's pretty dark, so if you want to skip it, it won't matter. The next chapter here will be Episode 10/11: The Quest.  
_

* * *

EPISODE PREQUEL:

"You should take Vala out to dinner."

Daniel looked up at Sam and frowned in that puzzled way that she had always found adorable.

"Why?"

"It would be a nice thing to do."

"Plus, she doesn't get the chance to get off base much." Jack added. "Remember how I used to take Teal'c out occasionally in the early years to really _experience_ Earth culture? We went to hockey games, the movies … jello wrestling …"

Sam looked at him sharply, narrowing her eyes. She couldn't tell if he was serious, but he looked shifty, as though he might be.

Daniel coughed. "Ok, but, why me specifically? You're pretty close with her these days, right?" He said, looking at Sam.

"It would mean more to her if you did it." Sam explained reasonably. "Plus, you're the one who originally convinced General Landry to take a chance on her. Take her out to a fancy restaurant or something as a thank you for proving you right."

Jack nodded emphatically at her side, and Daniel looked between the pair of them suspiciously.

"What are you two up to?" He asked.

They both adopted innocent expressions.

"You know, ever since you two got married, it's almost like you share a brain." Daniel told them. "It's creepy."

"Don't be ridiculous Daniel. If I tried to share Carter's brain, my head would explode." Jack said in a perfectly serious tone of voice.

Sam just grinned.

"Fine." Daniel said with an exaggerated sigh. "I'll do it. Do you want to dictate where as well, or do I get to choose that myself?" He asked sarcastically.

"I could offer suggestions if you like." Sam offered helpfully, and both men turned to look at her with incredulous expressions. "What?"

"I think our work here is done." Jack said, looking at her and canting his head at the door. "Let's go scare the crap out of Mitchell."

"Ask her." Sam said brightly to Daniel, and led Jack out of the room.

"Do you think we pushed too hard?" She asked when the elevator doors had closed.

"No, I don't think so. We didn't suggest it should be a _date_ , or a _romantic_ restaurant … I think we're fine."

"I'm just worried about the lack of progress given how old Serena looked, we can't be that far away from when she was supposed to be conceived …"

"It'll all work out fine, Sam. Surely if we've learnt anything these past six years, it's that."

She nodded.

"Is Walter ready?" He asked as the doors opened again.

"Waiting on your call. And Teal'c is already in position with the megaphone."

" _Excellent_."

* * *

EPISODE SEQUEL:

"I feel awful." Sam said into the phone receiver.

"We couldn't have known she'd be kidnapped." Jack said reasonably.

"Still, if we hadn't pushed Daniel into taking her to dinner …"

"She would have gone out of the mountain with one of you eventually. It was just a matter of timing."

"We shouldn't try and force the timeline along. Clearly it's unnecessary and dangerous."

"How's she doing?" Jack asked.

"She's a little shell-shocked, but the Tok'ra helped restore her memory with the same kind of memory device that caused the amnesia in the first place. She'll be ok."

"Good. That's good."

"I think Daniel blames me."

"No he doesn't." Jack argued. " _You_ blame you, and you're projecting onto him."

"He should blame me."

" _Carter_ …"

"I'm sorry sir, I'm just worried about Vala. She's my friend and I feel responsible."

"Look, the bottom line is she's going to be ok, and we nabbed a bunch more Trust operatives."

"I suppose."

"Next time we'll double date, and you can be her bathroom bodyguard."

Sam laughed. "I'm not sure Daniel would be too happy about that."

"After this he might welcome the extra muscle."

"Yeah." She sighed. "I'm gonna go check on her again."

"Ok. Call me tonight?"

"I will."


	34. The Quest & The Return

**SG-1 Season 10 Episode 11 – The Quest Part 2**

 **Atlantis Season 3 Episode 11 – The Return Part 2**

 _Episode summary for 'The Quest': Vala has a dream that reveals the address of the planet where Morgan Le Fay hid the Sangraal. They go there, and embark on a quest to find it, with the help of a local librarian as guide. They pass several trials, encountering Ba'al on the way who they agree to let join them when he says he has the name of the dragon (necessary for the last trial). Daniel realises that the old man guiding them is actually Adria in disguise. They confront her, and they agree to let her join them as well when she threatens to kill off team members, starting with Sam. They pass the remaining trials, and the group minus Adria are beamed to another planet, where they discover Merlin in stasis. He is revived, and begins working on building a new San Graal. Sam and Ba'al work on deactivating the dialing program that is automatically transporting them from planet to planet, because they need it turned off in order to escape. Merlin realises he doesn't have the strength to finish the weapon, and transfers his memories into the Ancient knowledge sharing device, before dying. Daniel realises that that is what Merlin's last act was, and so accesses the knowledge himself via the device. He gains Merlin's memories, and resumes building the weapon. Sam and Ba'al successfully de-activate the dialing program, but Adria catches up with them. Daniel uses his new Ancient powers to kill all of the Ori soldiers to allow SG-1 to escape, telling them he will be right behind them, but Adria is too powerful for him, and she captures him._

 _Episode summary for 'The Return': While testing the new McKay-Carter interlactic bridge (the Midway station), the Daedalus encounter an Ancient ship. The Ancients, on arriving at Atlantis, take control of the city and demand that the humans from Earth leave. Jack comes to help negotiate, but all they can achieve is an agreement that one person can stay. The IOA insist that that be Richard Woolsey. Six weeks later, Jack has been recalled to Atlantis to give Woolsey some 'back-up'. The Replicators are detected approaching Atlantis, but the Ancients are confident they are no threat, because of the element in their base code preventing the Replicators from attacking their creators (the Ancients). However, the Replicators have managed to re-write their base code, possibly as a result of McKay's previous attempts to re-write it, and they attack Atlantis, killing all of the Ancients. Gen Landry makes preparations to comply with Jack's standing order to nuke Atlantis. Dr Weir, Col Sheppard, McKay, and Dr Beckett steal a puddle jumper and go on a rogue mission to fight the replicators for control of Atlantis, and possibly to rescue Jack and Woolsey, if they are still alive. They pick up Teyla and Ronon, and make radio contact with Jack and Woolsey, who are the sole survivors of the Replicator attack, and are hiding in a damaged part of the city. Sheppard and co have a plan to retake the city involving McKay once again accessing the base code of a replicator they had previously left floating out in space. This plan fails when the replicator wakes up. Jack and Woolsey are caught and the Replicators probe their minds. Jack is adept at resisting, but Woolsey is useless. Landry asks Dr Lee for advice on the best way to destroy the Midway intergalactic gate bridge, and orders him to prepare a Mark 9 nuke to destroy the Midway station. While feigning an attempt to break them out of captivity, McKay tells Jack and Woolsey about a new plan. It is misinformation however, planted so that the Replicators will read the plan in Woolsey's mind and will give the team cover to carry out their real plan. McKay manages to rig it so that when the city's shields are activated, it triggers the anti-Replicator disruption wave to hit the whole city at once, destroying them all. They make contact with the Daedalus before the nuke can be deployed. Atlantis is saved._

 _ **Author's note:**_ _Sorry about the epic-length episode summaries – that's what happens when I try to summarise four episodes worth of material! This episode tag is set after The Quest Part 2, and begins during The Return Part 2, towards the end. I figure the reason Sam (at the very least) didn't go with Col Sheppard's team on the mission to rescue Jack is that she was still away on the SG-1 'Quest' mission._

* * *

Sam ran down the ramp and spun to watch the event horizon.

"Come on Daniel." She said, and she felt Vala step beside her.

"Where is he?" Vala asked urgently.

The wormhole disengaged with finality.

"Where is he?!" Vala shouted.

"He said he was right behind us." Sam said.

"We have to go back." Vala said. She spun around to look at Landry standing in the control room. "General, dial the gate, send us back!"

"To where?" Landry asked, and Sam grabbed hold of Vala's arm.

"Vala, I don't know the address of the planet we just came from. We can't go back."

Vala looked around at them all desperately, and then stormed out of the room. Cameron followed her, and Sam and Teal'c were left looking at each other in shock.

They'd lost Daniel. Again.

"Colonel Carter, report!" Landry ordered as he entered the gate room.

With a last agonised look at Teal'c, Sam explained what had happened.

"So he's in the hands of the Ori." Landry concluded.

"Yes sir." Sam said quietly. "Sir … with your permission …" She nodded at the door, asking permission to be dismissed.

Landry closed his eyes briefly with an exhausted sigh. "I'm sorry Colonel, I need to speak with you in my office."

He turned and walked away. Sam exchanged a perplexed look with Teal'c, who took her weapon and pack, and she followed the General to his office.

"Close the door and have a seat." Landry ordered, and she did so.

"Is this about the mission sir?"

"No." He leaned forward on his desk. "I have some bad news."

Sam's heart clenched in her chest. "Sir?"

"You're aware that General O'Neill was recalled to Atlantis to assist Mr Woolsey in his negotiations with the Ancients."

"Yes sir." Her blood was running cold. Something had happened to Jack.

"We received this message from him early this morning." He used a remote to turn on a video playback on a screen behind her, and she turned to see Jack's panicked expression as he told them about the Replicator attack, requesting immediate evacuation.

"Is there a rescue plan?" She asked. Landry looked pained.

"Colonel, they never made it to the gate." He paused, giving her a moment to absorb the information, clearly expecting her to take it as confirmation Jack was dead – although she wouldn't, _couldn't_ believe that. Even if she hadn't had foreknowledge of the future, she still would have believed Jack could have found a way to escape the situation. "General O'Neill left standing orders that in the event the city was compromised, Atlantis must be destroyed. The Daedalus is on its way to deliver a Mark 9 tactical nuclear warhead, right now."

It felt like time had stopped. She wasn't entirely certain she was still breathing.

Landry looked at her sympathetically. "It's strange, I never anticipated having this conversation this way around. I prepared myself for the possibility that one day I'd have to deliver news of your death to Jack, but not …" He trailed off.

"He's not dead, sir." Sam said shortly. "Which means there's still time to mount a rescue."

"Well, as it happens, Colonel Sheppard, Dr Weir, Dr McKay and Dr Beckett agreed with you. They stole a jumper, hacked the control room systems and mounted a rogue rescue mission earlier today."

Sam looked up at him in shock, clinging on to the lifeline of hope. "Have you heard from them since?"

"No." Landry stood, and Sam followed suit automatically. "Go get your post-mission check-up, Colonel. I'll let you know if we hear anything."

"Yes sir." She said numbly, and left the office.

Out in the corridor, she sagged against the wall. Daniel missing. Jack missing and presumed dead. And there was nothing she could do about either of them.

Bad day.

* * *

SG-1 didn't leave the base that evening. They holed up together, first in Daniel's office, and then in Sam's lab when she needed her computer.

A little after 1900, Dr Lee appeared in her doorway.

"Sam, I heard you were back. You need to talk to Landry."

"Already did." She said shortly, her eyes not leaving her computer screen.

"So he told you he wants to nuke the Midway station?"

Sam looked up at him incredulously, glancing at the faces of her teammates. "He's nuking _Atlantis_ , Bill."

"I know, I know, but he wants to blow up Midway too. We only just finished building it!"

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't the point of Midway that it would help us travel quickly to Atlantis? What's the point of having Midway if we destroy the city? It would just be a security risk." Cam said.

"That's what Landry was saying, but surely it's worth having. We invested so much research and time into building it, to just blow it up would be … disrespectful."

Sam stood, her eyes flashing dangerously. "General Landry is about to blow up the Ancient city of _Atlantis_ with my husband at ground zero, and you want me to go and convince him not to destroy Midway?"

"H – husband?"

Cam got up and seized Bill by the arm, hauling him out of the room for a little chat. Sam stood there, breathing hard, and she felt Vala's arm slip around her waist. Teal'c moved in front of her.

"I have faith that O'Neill will find a way to survive. Colonel Sheppard and his team are competent warriors, they will prevail." He looked to Vala. "Daniel Jackson has also escaped situations far more dire than this on many occasions."

He put one large hand on Sam's shoulder, and another on Vala's. "They will _both_ be fine."

Vala tucked her head on Sam's shoulder, and Sam just nodded.

* * *

At a little after 0500 hours, the klaxon sounded for an unscheduled gate activation. SG-1 all ran for the control room. The wormhole had just opened as they entered the room, and Landry was standing behind Sgt Harriman's chair.

"We're receiving a transmission sir." Walter announced, and a moment later a radio signal crackled to life.

"Stargate Command, this is Colonel Caldwell, do you read?"

"Loud and clear Colonel, have you successfully detonated the warhead?" Landry asked, and Sam felt Teal'c, who was standing directly behind her, grip her elbow.

"That's a negative General, but I have good news. It seems Colonel Sheppard and his team were successful in retaking the city. All of the Replicators in Atlantis have been destroyed."

Landry glanced at Sam. "Are there any survivors?"

"Yes sir, we have Colonel Sheppard, Doctors Weir, McKay and Beckett, Teyla Emmagen, Ronon Dex, General O'Neill and Richard Woolsey."

Sam closed her eyes and sagged in relief. Teal'c was now gripping her with both hands around her upper arms.

"Get Colonel Carter a seat." Landry ordered quietly, before toggling the radio transmitter again. "That's good news indeed Colonel Caldwell. Perhaps you would be so kind as to ask General O'Neill to gate back to Earth with a puddle jumper, so we can start ferrying you some personnel to secure the city."

"Yes sir. Daedalus out."

The wormhole disengaged, and Sam realised she was sitting in one of the chairs at the control console. She looked to General Landry, who grinned at her and clapped a hand on her shoulder.

"Maybe I won't fire Sheppard after all." He said, and headed back up to his office.

She chuckled, and took a deep breath to prevent the chuckle from turning into hysterical sobbing.

"Come on you." Cameron said, taking her hand and pulling her up.

They got all the way back to the lab with Sam in a relieved daze, but then Vala hugged her, and that was her undoing. She completely broke down, sobbing into Vala's soft black hair, and Teal'c wrapped his arms around the pair of them.

Cameron held a box of tissues in front of her face when she wriggled free of them all, and she took a handful gratefully.

"Sorry." She said in a congested voice.

"Don't be silly." Vala said, squeezing her arm.

"He's ok." Sam said softly.

"And on his way home." Teal'c said.

"Ok." She nodded, taking a deep breath. "That's one down. Now we just need to get Daniel back."

They all sobered, and Vala hugged her again. Sam wrapped her arms around Vala comfortingly, stroking her hair.

They _would_ get Daniel back. He always came back eventually.

* * *

Sam was in the control room when the jumper arrived, her expression calm and professional, all trace of her earlier crying jag washed away.

Jack waved at her and Landry from the pilot's seat. "Honey, I'm home." He said over the radio, and Sam rolled her eyes and bit back a laugh.

"I'm glad to see you're in one piece, Jack." Landry answered. "And Mr Woolsey, of course."

The IOA representative in the passenger seat looked decidedly worse for wear.

"No valet parking?" Jack asked.

"Bay 2 is free." Landry said, and Jack lifted the jumper up and out of sight.

"Let's go meet them." Landry said to Sam, and she happily followed him to the elevator.

A few levels up, they got to the jumper bay just as the jumper's hatch was opening. Woolsey stumbled out immediately, with the attitude of a man who wanted to kiss the ground in relief to be back on Earth. Jack followed more casually with a swagger.

"Have you got someone to pilot this thing, or should I stick around to ferry people back?" Jack asked Landry.

"We've got it covered." Landry said. "You two need to get checked out in the infirmary. Mr Woolsey, if you'll come with me I'll escort you there now – General O'Neill can follow after Colonel Carter here has assisted him with the post-flight checks."

Jack raised an eyebrow at Sam as Landry guided the shaken Woolsey away.

" _Post-flight checks_? Since when do the puddle jumpers need those?"

"Emergency protocol." She said, and walked into the jumper. He followed, and she closed the hatch behind them.

The second the hatch was closed, she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him fiercely.

A minute later he pulled back, gasping for breath. "Not that I'm complaining but …"

She punched him in the arm, hard. "Don't you ever do that to me again."

"Ow." He complained. "I got home, didn't I?"

Sam felt tears threatening again, and buried her face in his shoulder as her breath started to shudder with repressed sobs.

"Hey, it's ok." He said soothingly, rubbing her back.

"We lost Daniel. Adria captured him." She confessed quietly. "And then mere minutes after that happened, General Landry informed me of his intention to kill you with a nuke."

Jack sighed and held her closer. "It was my standing order …"

"I _know_."

"Adria has Daniel?"

"Yes. And we don't know where."

"We'll find him." He breathed into her hair. "We'll find him."


	35. Line in the Sand

**Season 10 Episode 12 – Line in the Sand**

 _Episode summary: Sam has modified Merlin's phase-shifting device, and is ordered to test it off-world to cloak a village of people, to hide them from the Ori forces threatening them. However, the test goes wrong, the Ori attack, and Sam is shot by one of the deadly Ori staff weapons as she tries to correct the problem. Mitchell comes to her aid and with some instructions from Sam manages to get the device active, but it only conceals the room they are in. The Ori question the villagers about the disappearance of the room, Vala is taken to the Ori ship by Tomin, and Sam's condition worsens inside the phase-shifted room. Sam has an idea, and manages to talk Mitchell through powering the phase-shifting device with the crystal from the Ori staff weapon, and they succeed in extending the field to encompass the village just before the Ori ship opens fire on the village from orbit. Tomin lets Vala escape, but she rings down to the planet to find an apparent blast crater, until the phase-shifting field is lowered, and the village is revealed to be whole and safe. At the end, Sam is shown to be healing in the infirmary, and Cam brings her some home-baked macaroons – which she hates._

* * *

 _[DURING THE EPISODE – to replace the 'the password is fishing' scene]_

"I'm dying." Sam said breathlessly, her tone one of utter surprise as she made the realisation.

Cam scowled at her. "Come on Sam, no talk like that. I am _not_ going to let you die on me."

"No, Cam, I'm not giving up, I'm just …" She looked at him in confusion. "This is wrong, I'm not supposed to die here."

He looked a little mollified by that. "That's right – and you won't. No one's dying on this mission, you hear me?"

Sam's mind was foggy and muddled with pain and the morphine shot Cam had given her an hour earlier, but she knew two things: she _was_ dying, and she wasn't supposed to be. What about 2034? What about Beth, and Jake … and Jack?

"I made a mistake." She whispered. "I must have … miscalculated …"

"Sam." Cam shook her shoulder a little, and she felt a measure of alertness snap back as she met his clear blue eyes. "You're not making any sense." He told her, not unkindly.

"I have to make it out of here." She told him earnestly.

"That's more like it." He grinned.

* * *

 _[AFTER THE EPISODE – but before the macaroons!]_

When Sam came round in the infirmary, she mumbled 'Jack' without thinking, and Vala's face swam into view above her.

"He's not here, but he sends his love." Vala whispered to her, squeezing her hand.

"What happened?" She asked hoarsely.

Vala reached for the cup of water at Sam's bedside and held the straw to Sam's lips so she could wet her parched mouth and throat.

"You got shot by an Ori soldier and almost died." Vala told her shortly as Sam sipped at the straw.

"I remember that part." Sam said. "I meant, after …"

"You and Mitchell extended the out-of-phase gizmo to encompass the whole village, just as the Ori opened fire on you from their ship. They thought the village was destroyed, so they left." Vala shifted uncomfortably, and Sam suspected there was more to that story than Vala was telling. "After that, Teal'c and Mitchell carried you very quickly to the gate on a stretcher, and you were taken straight to surgery. Dr Lam says you're lucky to be alive."

"The equipment …?"

"Back in your lab, safe and sound." Vala said.

Sam let out a sigh of relief.

"Any word on Daniel while I was out?"

"No." Vala said, eyes downcast. Sam reached out and squeezed her hand.

"I should let someone know you're up." Vala said suddenly. "And I promised your husband I'd call him the second you woke up too."

"Where are Cam and Teal'c?"

"Off-world. Bra'tac needed them for something. They didn't want to go before you woke up, but … it seemed urgent."

Sam nodded tiredly.

"I'll just go fetch a doctor." Vala said, hopping to her feet and rushing away.

* * *

When Dr Lam had finished her examination of Sam's wound, Sam wrapped her long fingers around the doctor's wrist before she could leave.

"Doctor … I need to ask a favour."

Dr Lam raised her eyebrows. "What kind of favour?"

"Usually I'd go to a civilian gynaecologist about something about this, but given my somewhat unique blood-chemistry …" She trailed off, hoping Dr Lam would hear what she wasn't saying.

Dr Lam's eyes widened and she moved away to pull the privacy curtains closed around Sam's bed.

"What is it, Colonel?"

"Can you run some tests to check my … fertility?" She cringed a little at the embarrassment of asking for this in a military facility, but as she'd told the doctor, she didn't have the luxury of a private off-based gynaecologist for this.

"Of course I can." Dr Lam said. "I assume you'd like this kept confidential?"

"Is that ok?"

"As it's not something that would directly affect your fitness for duty, I can keep it between us." The doctor assured her.

Sam nodded. "Thanks."

Dr Lam smiled a little and patted her hand. "Not a problem."

The doctor left, and Sam let out a deep breath and let her head sink deeper into the pillow. She knew it was silly to worry, given that she _knew_ in the future she had two kids, but the fact of the matter was that she and Jack had been trying for over six months with no luck. It could be explained away – they didn't see each other all that often, she'd been ill or injured several times, and neither of them were particularly young – but it was still worrying her. What if they needed some help? General Samantha Carter had never mentioned needing special measures to conceive her children, but then she'd been very tight-lipped about a great many things concerning their future, in order not to upset the timeline.

The bottom line was she couldn't take anything for granted. Including her own fertility.

* * *

The unpleasant taste of Cam's thoughtful gift of macaroons was still lingering on her tongue when Vala bounced in holding a cellphone.

"It's for you!" She announced, and pressed the phone to Sam's ear.

"Hello?" Sam asked warily.

"Hey you." It was Jack.

"Hey." She said back, smiling. She met Vala's eyes and mouthed 'Thank you'. The other woman beamed at her and withdrew, leaving Sam alone.

"So how bored are you on a scale of one to ten?" Jack asked teasingly.

"I have a laptop." Sam admitted sheepishly.

"What?" Jack sounded outraged. "Who allowed that?"

"Dr Lam said it was fine as long as I didn't push myself too hard."

"Fraiser would never have allowed you to work barely forty-eight hours after emergency surgery." Jack griped. "Are we sure Dr Lam knows what she's doing?"

Sam rolled her eyes. "She saved my life, so yeah, I'd say she does. And besides, I'm hardly 'working', I've just been keeping up to date, writing a report, checking some things … it's to keep me from going stir-crazy more than anything else."

"Hmm. Just don't overdo it."

"I'm fine." She assured him.

"I've heard you say that seconds before passing out from massive blood loss." Jack scoffed.

"Thank goodness I'm tucked in a nice comfy infirmary bed surrounded by doctors, then." Sam said brightly.

Jack harrumphed again, not buying it. "Are you sure you're going to be ok?"

"I'm sure." Sam said. "Plus, Vala's been helping the healing process along with the Goa'uld healing device. I'll be good as new in a few days."

"I wish I could have been there with you."

Sam wasn't sure if he meant on the mission, or in the infirmary with her in the aftermath, but appreciated the sentiment either way. "Me too. But I'll see you at the weekend, right?"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world." Jack assured her.

"Hey, listen, if you've got a few minutes, there's something I want to talk to you about." Sam said.

"Oh?"

"I asked Dr Lam to run a few extra tests."

"What kind of tests?" Jack asked warily.

Sam took a deep breath. "Fertility tests."

Jack was silent for a few seconds. "You're worried about that?" He asked finally.

"I was, a little. It's been … a while."

"We're not twenty-five. It wasn't likely to happen on the first try." Jack pointed out reasonably.

"Still …"

"When do you get the results?"

"Actually I already got them. She's says there's nothing obviously wrong, so we should just keep trying."

"Does she know who the other half of 'we' is?" Jack asked.

"No." Sam hesitated, and then continued. "She also said that if I was worried, it might be a good idea for my partner to get tested too."

Jack let out an audible sigh. "Sam, we already know we're both fertile, we've seen – more than once, in my case – the kids we'll have in the future. There's no point in me filling a specimen cup for someone to poke around in."

Sam winced. "You're probably right. I just can't help but feel we're running out of time."

"You know, worrying about it so much probably isn't helping." Jack pointed out.

"I know." She fidgeted, playing with the edge of the blanket covers. "I miss you."

Jack sighed. "Me too."

"When I get pregnant …"

"I'll come home." He promised her. "I'll retire, or they'll let me work out of the SGC … we'll figure it out, but I'll come home."

"It's kinda funny that we've been married a year and a half and still have yet to move in together." She said, without a trace of humour.

"Well, let's put some more effort into getting you pregnant sooner rather than later, huh?" Jack suggested brightly.

Sam chuckled. "Yes sir."


	36. The Road Not Taken

**Season 10 Episode 13 – The Road Not Taken**

 _Episode summary: While experimenting with Merlin's phase-shifting device, Sam is pulled into an alternate universe. The transfer kills the alternate SGC's Carter, and Sam is enlisted by the AU President Landry to help first with the defence of Earth, and then with PR as the new poster child of the SGC. As she realises the liberties Landry has taken with civil rights however, she tries to use her new media presence to campaign for the return of democracy. She is very quickly and efficiently silenced, but manages to enlist the AU Carter's ex-husband Rodney McKay to both help her get home, and to carry on being a voice in Landry's ear for the return of the country's democracy and civil rights._

* * *

They had a 'welcome home' party for Sam, consisting of a team night at her place. The sentiment was sincere, but the party itself fell pretty flat. The team member who was still missing overshadowed them all with his glaring absence.

When Vala started looking decidedly depressed, Sam called an end to the event, claiming fatigue. She was pretty sure none of them bought it, but no one argued. It really wasn't the same without Daniel.

Sam talked Vala into staying the night, and installed her in the guest room with a borrowed set of pyjamas and an extra blanket, tucking her in almost like a child. "You wanna talk about it?" She asked softly, sitting on the edge of the bed.

Vala shook her head.

Sam stood to leave, but Vala suddenly grabbed her hand. "Do you think … do you think he's still alive?" She asked softly, sounding afraid of the answer.

Sam closed her eyes briefly, and made a decision. She climbed into the other side of the double bed, and rolled onto her side to face Vala, who mirrored her.

"I'm certain that he's still alive." Sam said firmly.

Vala looked at her for a long moment. "How can you be so sure?"

Sam took a deep breath, second guessing her decision for a moment before finding her resolve. Vala needed this. "You remember a few months ago when we all went out to a bar, and I drank a bit too much and … I said some things, about the future?"

Vala's eyes widened. "You know that you're going to have a daughter named Beth." She frowned. "But you said you didn't know anything else."

"I lied." Sam admitted. "I won't tell you everything that I know, but I will tell you this. Daniel is alive. He'll live to old age."

Vala gaped at her, and let out a shuddery breath. "How can you possibly know that?"

Sam shook her head. "I can't explain. But please trust me. He's going to be ok."

Vala nodded, and tucked herself close to Sam, who put her arms around the other woman tentatively. "Thank you." Vala whispered.

Sam smiled sadly. "You're welcome."

* * *

"You married _McKay_?!" Jack sounded positively outraged.

"I take it you finally read my report." Sam remarked wryly.

" _McKay_. Seriously?"

"Hey, it wasn't _me_." Sam argued, balancing the phone between her ear and her shoulder as she put away groceries.

"Still …" Jack sounded decidedly disturbed.

"However freaked out you're feeling right now, I guarantee you it was worse for me." Sam pointed out.

"Was I even alive in that universe?" He asked. "Your report doesn't mention me at all."

"You were alive, but I didn't run into you." She said. "I don't think that universe's Jack and Sam ever had a romantic relationship."

"What, nothing? Not even a healthy dose of sexual tension?"

Sam chuckled. "We're not a trans-universal constant, Jack."

"The Carter from that universe must have been _really_ weird." Jack commented. "But even so … _McKay_?"

"He's not that bad." Sam protested.

She could practically hear Jack blanch. "You're defending him?"

"I'm not saying that in this universe I would ever in a million years have ended up marrying him. I'm just saying, he's not as obnoxious as he used to be, and I could do worse. I mean, the _other_ me could have done worse."

"Let's stop talking about McKay." Jack begged, sounding uncomfortable.

"You started it." Sam pointed out, shutting her freezer irritably.

"A decision I'm living to regret." He commented. "Allow me to change the subject. How's Vala doing with our little secret?"

"She's not going to tell, if that's what you're asking. But I'm glad I told her as much as I did, she seems a lot happier now that she knows Daniel's going to be alright in the end."

"He'll turn up." Jack said, although he didn't sound nearly as certain as he had when Daniel had first disappeared, a couple of months previously.

"I just hope it's soon." Sam said wistfully. "I keep imagining what he might be going through …"

"Don't torture yourself, Sam." He said softly. Sam winced and sat down, saying nothing.

"Hey, look at it this way." Jack said. "If it was that awful, then future Daniel might have given me some details to help us find him when I saw him in my solo trip."

"Maybe." Sam conceded. "Unless he knew that it would ruin the timeline if he did."

"There's no point in second-guessing it." Jack said. "We just have to keep looking."

"Yeah, I know." She sighed. _But please let us find him soon._


	37. The Shroud

**Season 10 Episode 14 – The Shroud**

 _Episode summary: SG-1 find Daniel. He has been turned into a Prior. They secure him with an anti-Prior device aboard the Odyssey, and he tells them about his plan to commandeer an Ori ship, finish building Merlin's weapon to destroy ascended beings, and send it through the supergate. He wants them to shut down the wormhole they have open connecting the Pegasus galaxy to the Milky Way supergate, which is the only thing blocking more Ori ships from coming through. He says Merlin is still sharing his mind, but that Merlin will fade from his mind within the next 24 hours and when that happens he will turn back into a human and lose his Ori powers – including the ability to pilot an Ori ship. Jack talks to him, and he and SG-1 agonise over whether Daniel is telling the truth, and they come to believe him, but it's too big a risk to go completely along with Daniel's plan. They convince him to tell them enough to try the initial stages of the plan themselves. Meanwhile, the IOA wanted to kill Daniel, due to Woolsey's experience with Caleb, the 'son' of Anubis. Jack and Landry talk him down, but Woolsey still wants to put Daniel in stasis in Antarctica until such time as SG-1's mission is deemed a success. Daniel won't go along with this though, and having overcome the affect of the anti-Prior device, takes over the Odyssey, beaming the crew safely down to Earth, and abducting Jack. He informs Jack that he has installed cloaking technology on the Odyssey. He takes the Odyssey to the supergate, where SG-1 have arrived aboard the Ori ship. However, Adria has taken back control of the ship, and Daniel intervenes to help them. He knocks Adria out, dials the supergate and sets the ship on a course through it, turning back into a human in the process. With the weapon set to go off on a timer, SG-1 beam out with Daniel. Later, they and Jack watch aboard the Odyssey as the supergate activates again and spits out six new Ori ships to join the one already waiting at the gate. They are left to hope that the weapon successfully destroyed the Ori themselves, but that is small comfort in the face of the overwhelming power and resolve of the Ori's Priors, armies and ships._

* * *

"Follow them." Jack ordered, and Sam moved quickly to comply, bringing the Odyssey's hyperdrive online to follow the seven Ori ships.

"They'll split up at some point." Daniel pointed out, his gaze fixed on the sight of the ships in the distance. "We can't follow them all."

"We should keep up with them as long as we can." Mitchell pointed out. "If there's any chance of picking up some intel about their plans …"

Jack canted his head in oblique agreement. He turned back to Sam. "Can we activate the supergate again, block more ships from coming through?"

"Not immediately. We'd have to do the same thing we did last time, getting a stargate close to the supergate on this end and close to a black hole on the Pegasus end, and detonating some Mark 9's close enough to make the wormhole jump. And to be honest … we were lucky we got it to work last time. I'm not 100% confident that McKay and I could replicate the results."

Jack sighed. "Then I guess that's a discussion to be had when we get back to Stargate Command."

He glanced at Daniel, looking him up and down. "If you're going to stay 'up', you might want to put on some clothes."

Daniel frowned at him in confusion, and then glanced down, abruptly realising he was still in his infirmary scrubs. "Right. I'll, uh, I'll be right back."

"I'll go with you." Vala said, running after him.

Jack caught Sam watching the pair go with an indulgent smile, and he raised an eyebrow when she looked back at him. She shrugged. Daniel and Vala were still 'Daniel and Vala'. It was comforting.

"They appear to be parting ways." Teal'c said suddenly, and Jack squinted at the ships far ahead of them. His eye-sight wasn't a hundred percent these days.

"Teal'c is right. Each ship is heading in a different direction." Sam said. She looked up at Jack with a helpless shrug. "Sir?"

"Are any of them headed towards Earth?" He asked.

Sam looked at her console for a few moments. "Not directly. Should I follow the one that comes closest?"

Jack sighed. "No, there's not a great deal of point. Take us home."

"Yes sir." She programmed their course into the navigational computer.

He sat down in the commander's chair heavily, Sam already seated on his right, and Mitchell took the seat to his left.

"Sir, with your permission, I'd like to go and take a closer look at that cloak." Sam said.

"Go." He said, waving her away, and she smiled at him, vacating her seat. Teal'c took her place.

"The IOA are going to be pretty irate with Daniel." Mitchell commented. "Abducting you, stealing the Odyssey … and we just let six new Ori ships into the galaxy."

"Yes, well … Daniel's always been a trouble-maker." Jack said. "At least we can say we probably just killed the 'big-bads'. And he gave us cloaking technology."

"Technically, that was Merlin." Teal'c rumbled.

Jack squinted at him. "Same difference."

"Do you think Carter can figure out how it works and replicate it for our other ships?" Mitchell asked.

Jack levelled an incredulous stare at him. "It's _Carter_ , Mitchell."

The Colonel had the good grace to look contrite. "Right."

"How long till we reach Earth?" Jack asked.

"Three hours and forty-seven minutes."

 _Oy. Wish I'd brought a yoyo._ "Mitchell, hold down the fort." Jack said, standing. "I'm gonna go help Carter."

* * *

It was doubtful he was any actual 'help' to Sam, but it was nice to have the opportunity to watch her work again. It wasn't an opportunity he was presented with overly much, these days.

Daniel and Vala turned up after about an hour, and Vala rendered some actual assistance to Sam, while Daniel hung back talking with Jack. Vala, as it turned out, was pretty savvy with technology herself, something Jack hadn't been fully conscious of previously, despite knowing in an abstract way of her previous exploits aboard the ill-fated Prometheus.

Watching the dark-haired woman kneeling next to his wife, Jack was struck again by the resemblance to Serena, the young woman he'd met in the future who he was now certain was Vala's future progeny. He missed Serena, as much as he missed Beth and Jake. He'd sensed a kindred spirit in the young woman, and he resolved to try and get to know Vala a little better.

After a couple of hours of work, Vala suddenly whooped and Sam exclaimed 'Yes!' and high-fived Vala enthusiastically.

"Good news?" Jack enquired.

"I found the base code." Sam said. "See, the technology itself is very similar to Arthur's Mantle … the cloak that Merlin invented to shift people in a localised area into another dimension, which Dr Lee and I later developed to hide larger areas as a defence against the Ori."

"The one you used to hide the village when you got shot by that Ori soldier." Jack said, trying to follow along.

Daniel looked between them sharply. "Shot?" He asked.

Sam lifted the hem of her shirt a little, showing off the still livid scar.

"Ouch!" Daniel said, recoiling a little.

"Yeah, that wasn't fun." Sam said. "Anyway, while the technology is similar, as far as I can tell it's not actually transferring the whole ship out of phase. We're still physically in our own dimension, it's just the visual spectrum that's been shifted. The closest comparison is the Sodan personal cloaking devices. Now, in order to duplicate it, I needed to locate the base code used to program Merlin's device, as that's what determines the frequency of the cloak – see, at the right frequency there's a resonant reaction at the subatomic level that shifts the visual spectrum …" She trailed off as all three of her listeners' eyes glazed over. "Long story short, I found it, so I'm pretty confident that with some work at R&D, we can duplicate it."

"Excellent." Jack said, jumping up. "Nice job."

Sam beamed at him. "Thank you sir."

"Why do you do that when it's only us here?" Daniel asked suddenly.

Sam looked at him, confused. "What?"

"You called Jack 'sir'."

"We're in uniform. On a mission." Sam pointed out, speaking slowly as though it was obvious.

"Yeah, but, you're married to him and the only people around are your closest friends." Daniel said, matching her tone exactly.

"It's an Air Force thing, Danny." Jack said.

Daniel rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I just think it's nuts to carry on with the charade that you're just colleagues when there's no one around to fool."

"There is such a thing as 'professional decorum'." Jack said.

Daniel looked at him askance. "Since when have you displayed any of that?"

"How about the eight years I spent refraining from flirting outrageously with her?" Jack offered smoothly. Sam flushed, and Vala snorted with laughter.

Daniel coughed awkwardly. "Point taken."

He patted Daniel on the shoulder. "Don't worry Daniel. I'm not the least bit professional with Sam in private." He winked suggestively, and Daniel recoiled.

" _Jack_!" Daniel exclaimed in shock at the innuendo about a woman he loved like a sister, as the ladies both burst out laughing.

"I'm going back to the bridge." Jack announced. "As you were _Colonel_ Carter, _Dr_ Jackson, _Ms_ Mal Doran."

He made his exit, smirking. He could exhibit professional decorum. He just chose not to, on occasion.


	38. Bounty

**Season 10 Episode 15 – Bounty**

 _ **Episode summary:**_ _SG-1 blow up a Lucian alliance ship and its train of cargo, and have a bounty placed on their heads in retribution. They have some downtime, and Sam heads to an applied technology conference with Dr Lee, Daniel goes to a museum to do some research, Teal'c goes off-world to work with the jaffa, and Mitchell takes Vala to his high school reunion. They are all pursued by bounty hunters. Daniel, Teal'c and Sam manage to dispatch with theirs, and they converge on the high school reunion to render assistance to Mitchell and Vala, and to prevent collateral damage to the other reunion guests. They succeed._

 _ **Author's note:**_ _Remember that episode tag I did for the season 7 episode 'Fragile Balance' … the tag where Sam had Thor create a teenage clone of herself to keep mini-Jack company? Well … this one is a sequel of sorts for that. Enjoy!_

* * *

 _[DURING EPISODE – at the end of the first scene of Sam's conference]_

"On the positive side these events have a dynamite singles scene." Dr Bill Lee said with a gleeful smile back at the two twenty-something girls acting like groupies behind him. "It's a huge window of opportunity, I think I'll mingle – you should too!"

He gave Sam a little wave of farewell and approached the two girls with the confidence of a Lothario, leaving Sam gawking after him.

She turned away rapidly, before she saw something she couldn't un-see, and decided to check out the information stands set up by other scientists, to show off their projects.

She was just checking out a particularly intriguing take on the development of force-field technology, when she heard a muffled curse to her right, and looked up to find herself meeting a very familiar pair of blue eyes. Above a very familiar nose … and a very familiar chin … and a … baby bump? _Holy frickin' Hannah!_

"Come with me." The teenager grabbed Sam's arm and towed her forcefully through the crowd and out into the empty stairwell.

"What the hell?" Sam demanded, staring.

An eighteen-year-old version of herself stared back. "Long time no see?" The clone tried nervously.

"You're pregnant!" Sam exclaimed.

"Gee, thanks, I hadn't noticed." The younger Sam said wryly. "Look, I'm sorry about this, I didn't know you were going to be here. I always check before turning up at places like this to make sure I don't accidentally run into you."

"What are you even doing here?" Sam asked.

"The force-field project." Mini-Sam said as if it was obvious. "I – that is to say, _you_ – always wanted to do some more research on force-fields, but you never had the time. Now _I_ do."

"Please tell me you're not using my name." Sam said.

Mini-Sam rolled her eyes. "Seriously, what do you take me for? I'm going by Cara Fields."

Fields was Sam's mother's maiden name. And she supposed Cara wasn't too much of a leap from 'Carter'.

"I assume that's Jack's?" Sam said, indicating Cara's distended belly.

"Obviously." Cara's hand moved to rest on the baby bump protectively. "Have you had Beth yet?"

"No." Sam shook her head. "We're working on it."

"Having trouble?" Cara asked, frowning.

Sam rolled her eyes. "Not all of us are teenagers." She replied scathingly.

"Hey, being this young isn't all fun and games, you know." Cara said scornfully. "At least you get taken seriously at these things. The best I can do is pose as someone's lab assistant."

Sam winced. "I'm sorry, I'm sure it must be difficult."

"Yes, well … it's been an adjustment."

Sam looked at the teenager, feeling a stab of almost parental concern. "Are you doing alright for money, I mean, with the baby coming …?"

"We're fine." Cara said firmly. "Jon – _Jack_ – has a pretty decent job and I get paid a hefty sum under the table to help Dr Reiman with the force-field project."

At Sam's frown, Cara held up a hand to forestall further questions. "I know, he's going to take all the credit, but as I'm going around wearing your face, I can hardly afford to make a name for myself, can I?"

Sam shifted guiltily. "There's enough of an age difference that people probably wouldn't make the connection. You could dye your hair, wear glasses …"

Cara shook her head. "It doesn't matter, I'm going to try being a stay-at-home mom for a while. I'll still help out Dr Reiman, but I'm not looking to get too involved in anything scientific in the foreseeable future. Maybe I'll think about it again in a few years."

Sam stared at her in surprise. She couldn't imagine ever wanting to be a stay-at-home mom herself. She'd go nuts with boredom.

"It's like Jon says. We're different people now." Cara said, correctly interpreting Sam's confusion. "I've lived the last three years of my life as a care-free teenager with the man – I mean … _fellow teenager_ – that I love. It's changed me. You've undoubtedly spent the last three years working your ass off at the SGC saving the planet over and over again, with no time for a personal life."

"Hey! For your information, Jack and I got married nearly two years ago!"

"Really?" Cara looked shocked. "Wow, I wasn't expecting it to be that fast. You won the war?"

Sam looked away uncomfortably.

"Right, it's classified." Cara said, sighing. "For what it's worth, I wouldn't be able to enjoy this life nearly as much if I didn't know they still had you."

"You realise how egotistical that sounded, right?" Sam said with a wince.

"I just meant there's not really much that I could do to help that you're not already doing." Cara said, exasperated.

Sam canted her head in acknowledgement. She found her gaze drifting to Cara's belly again.

"Do you know if it's …"

"… a boy or a girl? No, Jon wants it to be a surprise." Cara said with a fond smile, stroking a hand over the baby bump.

"I can't imagine getting used to calling him by a different name." Sam said, remarking at Cara's casual and natural use of the name 'Jon'.

"It didn't take as long as you'd think." Cara chuckled. "My name was his idea … he was sure he'd bark out 'Carter' at some inopportune moment and blow our cover."

"I figured that was probably the reason." Sam agreed with a smile. She sighed and looked back at the hall. "I should really get back, I have a presentation …"

"Yeah, no, of course, go." Cara waved her way. "I'll … see you around, I guess. Or not."

"Right." Sam rocked on her heels a bit. Her gaze kept being drawn to Cara's baby bump. "Would you let me know … when …?" She gestured vaguely at the baby.

"I'll send you an email." Cara agreed softly.

Sam smiled, and turned away.

"Say hi to Cassie for me." Cara called suddenly. "Or … you know, just … give her an extra big hug." Cara finished, gesturing in frustration at the knowledge that Cassie didn't know she even existed.

Sam paused at the door she'd just opened, looking at Cara in sympathetic understanding, and nodded.

"Good luck." She said softly, with a last envious glance at Cara's hand on her pregnant belly.

* * *

 _[AFTER THE EPISODE]_

"Damn it!" Sam's exclamation sounded more than a little upset.

Jack, sitting up in bed with a laptop, looked up from the email he was typing and frowned at the closed bathroom door. "Carter?" He called.

There was no answer, and so he pushed the laptop off his legs and stood stiffly, shaking out his knees as he padded over to the bathroom door. He knocked softly. "Sam? Can I come in?"

The door handle clicked as she pulled the door open a little in invitation, and he pushed it open further to see her slamming the lid of the trash can rather harder than strictly necessary.

"What's going on?" He asked.

"It's nothing, I'm being ridiculous." She told him, facing away from him, her voice thick with emotion.

He pulled her round to face him with a gentle hand on her shoulder, and cupped her face in his hands, kissing her forehead softly. "What's going on?" He repeated.

"I just did a pregnancy test. It was negative." She admitted. She rolled her eyes, trying for nonchalance, but it just caused some unshed tears to escape and roll down her cheeks.

"C'mere." He said, and tugged her into him. She took some deep breaths as she composed herself, and he stroked her hair soothingly. "It'll happen when it happens." He said.

That was apparently the wrong thing to say.

"When?" She exploded angrily, pulling away. "I know we're not together as much as we'd like, but we're _trying_ every God damn chance we get. I've got ovulation kits, and I'm marking calendars, and I'm re-arranging my leave schedule so I can be here at the right time of the month, and still … _nothing_."

Jack held his tongue this time, completely at a loss for what to say.

Sam sighed and relaxed back into his arms. "I saw my clone a couple of days ago." She admitted quietly.

Jack frowned. "Clone?" It took a moment to hit him. "Oh, you mean the teenage clones of you and me?"

"Yeah, although legally they're adults now, they're over eighteen. I ran into the clone of me at that applied technology conference." She paused. "She's seven months pregnant."

Jack froze in shock. "Woah."

"Yeah." She sighed. "If she can do it, why can't I? I just keep thinking I'm doing something wrong, or I've left it too long …"

"Sam." He cut her off. "You had Dr Lam check you out. You're fine. We just need to keep trying."

"I know. It's just so … infuriating, and exhausting …"

"I could choose to take offense at that." He quipped lightly.

"You know what I mean." She scolded.

"Yeah, I do." He agreed. "So … the other you and the other me …?"

"Are having a baby. Weird, huh?"

"Yeah." Jack said, speculatively. "Weird."

"I wonder what happened to that kid – and our clones, I guess – in the future?"

"No way of knowing for sure." Jack said distractedly.

"No … I suppose not."

She sighed again, sadly, and Jack's heartstrings gave a tug at the sound. He pulled back enough to tilt her head and kiss her.

"Come to bed." He said softly, and she smiled a little, letting him pull her by the hand back to the bedroom.


	39. Dominion

**Season 10 Episode 19 – Dominion**

 _Episode summary: Vala comes up with a plan to capture Adria, involving implanting herself with fake memories of SG-1 betraying her, and leading Adria on a race to some fake treasure. The mission goes off without a hitch until Ba'al beats them to the punch, abducting Adria just as she falls into SG-1's trap. Sam and Daniel explain to Vala that the memories are false, and that they didn't betray her. A pre-recorded video message Vala made for herself convinces her. Ba'al implants Adria with a cloned Ba'al symbiote, and SG-1 succeed in kidnapping Adria back. They try to extract Ba'al from Adria to replace him with a Tok'ra, and succeed in removing Ba'al, but Adria receives a fatal dose of toxin and the Tok'ra cannot be implanted. They go to kill Adria, but she wakes up and uses her powers to seal herself and Vala in the infirmary. Adria causes a coolant leak in the corridor in an attempt to kill Daniel, and Vala tries to shoot Adria to stop her. Adria uses her powers to stop Vala from shooting her and starts to kill Vala. She runs out of energy however as the toxin takes hold, and she ascends._

* * *

The credits at the end of the movie started rolling, and Sam glanced at Vala, who was reclining beside her on the bed.

"Are you still awake?" Sam asked.

"Just about." Vala said sleepily, and rolled over a little to snuggle into Sam's shoulder. Sam grinned fondly and reached around Vala for the remote, turning off the TV and plunging the room into darkness.

"I'll let you get some sleep." Sam said, getting off the bed and smoothing down her skirt, reaching for her high-heeled boots.

"But it's girls' night." Vala complained. "You can't go, I haven't even gotten you drunk yet."

Sam chuckled. "Nice try. I am _never_ getting drunk around you again, I learnt my lesson the last time."

"Sam." Vala sat up and turned the light on, and they both squinted a little in the sudden brightness. "Please don't go."

The seriousness of her tone made Sam pause in the act of inserting her foot into her boot.

"Ok." Sam said slowly, and pulled the footwear off again, sitting back down on the bed. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Vala said, planting a big fake smile on her face, which Sam didn't buy for a second.

"What's going on?" Sam asked.

Vala let the smile drop, and sighed. "I just … I don't want to be alone right now. I know the memory of losing you all was false, but … I suppose it's bothering me more than I realised."

Sam scooted back into her previous position, reclining on the bed next to Vala, and squeezed the other woman's hand. "Then I'll stay." She said simply, and this time a more genuine smile graced Vala's features.

"Thank you."

Sam smiled, and picked up the TV remote again. "You wanna watch something else?"

"Actually I was hoping we could talk." Vala said.

"Ok." Sam dropped the remote on the table and turned to lean on her elbow and look at Vala. "What do you want to talk about?"

"Tell me a secret."

Sam smirked. "I refuse to get drunk around you because it makes me spill secrets, but you want me to skip past the fun 'getting drunk' bit and get straight to the bad part?"

Vala rolled her eyes. "It doesn't have to be anything timeline-shattering."

Sam winced that Vala even knew that much.

"Please? I've got a secret I want to tell you, but I'm nervous about it and I really think it would help me open up if you went first."

She said it with such a plaintive tone that Sam couldn't help but acquiesce.

"Fine." She sighed. "You know that Jack and I have been trying to have a baby."

"Yes." Vala's expression brightened hopefully. "Are you pregnant?"

"No." Sam said, feeling a now familiar stab of frustration and pain at the thought, and Vala's expression dropped into one of sympathy. "We're having some trouble, I don't know why, the doctors say we're both fine and we have to just keep trying, but for some reason it's not happening."

"I'm sorry." Vala said, squeezing her hand.

"Thanks. Anyway, that's not the secret."

"Then … what's the secret?"

Sam squinted at her. "It's a real secret. No one knows about this other than myself and Jack. You can't breathe a word of this to anyone, not even the guys."

Vala's eyes widened, and she nodded earnestly.

Sam took a deep breath. "Three years ago, an Asgard named Loki created a fifteen year old clone of Jack."

"Hang on a minute … I knew that! Daniel told me!" Vala protested.

Sam held up a hand. "Wait for it. The secret part, is that after Thor healed Jack's clone and after we agreed to let him continue to live out his life on Earth … I asked Thor to make a fifteen year old clone of me, too."

"Really? You mean, a 'Sam' clone to keep the 'Jack' clone company?"

"Something like that." Sam smiled ruefully. "Anyway, they've been living on Earth together ever since, and … I ran into her a couple of months ago. She was pregnant then, and I got an email from her earlier this week to say she's had the baby. It was a girl, eight pounds two ounces."

Vala gasped. "Oh."

"Yeah." Sam flopped onto her back.

Vala looked at her for a long moment, and then snuggled in, putting her head on Sam's shoulder and an arm across her stomach.

"Your turn." Sam prompted after a couple of minutes of silence.

Vala's arm tightened on Sam's stomach. "I suppose that was the deal, wasn't it."

"Yup."

Vala sighed. "I think I'm in love with Daniel."

Sam couldn't stop the grin from spreading over her face, and looked down at Vala.

"Don't laugh at me." Vala said, pulling back and smacking Sam's arm scoldingly.

"I'm not laughing." Sam protested. "I'm just glad to hear you've finally realised it."

"What?"

"Vala, I know you love Daniel. And for what it's worth, he's falling for you, too. Although, he's pretty messed up and stubborn as hell, so it may take him a little longer to realise it. Don't worry though, Jack's on it."

Vala stared at her, open-mouthed, for a good minute.

Sam frowned at her. "You ok?"

Vala shook herself. "I'm sorry, it's just … well, firstly I didn't realise I was that transparent, and … you really think Daniel has any feelings for me beyond friendship?"

"I'd put money on it." Sam said, deadpan. "A _lot_ of money."

"What did you mean when you said 'Jack's on it'?"

Sam shifted awkwardly. "Daniel's going to need some sense knocked into him at some point when it comes to admitting how he feels about you. Jack's the best person to do that."

"Huh." Vala rolled onto her back and looked at the ceiling.

Sam looked at her nervously. "I can't tell if you're mad at me, or if that was just a lot of information to take in at once …"

Vala tilted her head, considering. "Let me get back to you on that one."

Sam sat up, facing her friend properly. "Look, Vala –"

"It's not _exactly_ that I'm mad at you." Vala said, cutting her off. "It's just … clearly you and your 'dearly beloved' have given this a great deal of thought, and I really think that I should have been in the loop on that. Considering that it's my life we're talking about."

Sam's mouth dropped open, and she felt a pool of guilt form in her belly.

"You're right." She whispered. "I'm sorry."

Vala shook her head in frustration. "Look, can I just ask … has this got anything at all to do with your bizarre foreknowledge of the future?"

Sam froze, unable to think of a good way to answer.

"You already told me that you know Daniel lives to old age." Vala pointed out. "Presumably you may also know if he grows old _with_ anyone?"

Sam looked away. She really couldn't answer.

"Well, as that wasn't a flat out denial, I'll take that as a yes." Vala said. A moment later a smile spread across her face. "Which, given the original topic of our conversation, can _only_ mean good news for me."

Sam rolled her eyes. The woman was too intuitive for her own good.

"Vala, you know I can't tell you anything more about what I may or may not know about the future."

"Understood." Vala said, grinning.

Sam shook her head slightly in exasperation, laying back down.

"I'm glad you told me how you feel about him." Sam said, turning her head to look at Vala.

Vala looked back, hesitantly. "He really does feel the same way?"

Sam smiled. "He's getting there. Trust me."


	40. Unending

**Season 10 Episode 20 – Unending**

 _Episode summary: The Asgard equip the Odyssey with a computer containing the entire knowledge of the Asgard race, their last gift to Earth before committing mass suicide and ending their civilisation. However, an Ori ship attacks, and the Odyssey is in danger of being destroyed. In a desperate effort to preserve the ship and the last legacy of the Asgard, Sam puts the ship into a time dilation bubble, buying her more time to try and figure a way to save the Odyssey. However, the task proves to take a lifetime, and SG-1 and General Landry live out the next fifty years on the Odyssey. An elderly Sam finally figures out how to reverse time and save the ship, but there's a catch – someone has to stay old to execute the plan. Teal'c, whose jaffa physiology means he has a much longer lifespan and has aged comparatively less than the others, volunteers. He goes back in time, and gives the younger Sam what she needs to save the ship._

* * *

Sam frowned at Teal'c speculatively across the campfire. He was acting strangely, avoiding conversation and being unusually reserved, even for him. To a certain extent, that was understandable, given that he'd just spent the last fifty years of his life trapped on the Odyssey with the rest of SG-1 and General Landry. Except, she got the feeling he was avoiding her in particular.

She had a theory about why that might be, and if she was right, it was a problem.

 _Well – no time like the present._

Sam got up and walked around the fire, dropping determinedly to sit on the log immediately beside the big jaffa. The rest of the team had bedded down for the night, and she was supposed to be heading that way herself, having just finished packing up their cooking gear, while Teal'c took first watch. She felt him tense as she settled next to him, and ignored the stab of hurt she felt at that reaction to her proximity.

She put her hand on his bare fore-arm, forcing him to look at her. "Teal'c, I think we need to talk."

He shifted uneasily, looking back out into the darkness. "There is nothing we need to discuss, Samantha. You should get some sleep."

She studied his blank expression, trying to figure out how best to broach the subject.

"Fifty years is a long time." She said, and immediately felt like an idiot for stating the obvious. He didn't dignify the remark with a response.

"What I mean is, I know if I was stuck on the Odyssey for that long, I would be especially frustrated for a very particular reason, and I imagine at some point I would have shared that reason with someone. Probably you."

Still no response. She rolled her eyes.

"Ok, I'm just going to ask. Did I or did I not tell you about 2034?"

She figured that was vague enough that if she hadn't told him, he wouldn't know what she was talking about.

He stiffened, and she got her answer. He knew.

"Damn it." She cursed, removing her hand from his arm and hugging her knees.

She honestly thought he was going to continue his silence, and so when he spoke a few minutes later, she jumped, startled.

"We had been aboard the Odyssey for seven years when you told me the secret that you and O'Neill have kept." Teal'c said. "That was the point at which you finally began to accept that the future you had seen in 2034 was lost to you. You grieved for the children you would never bear."

Sam closed her eyes. She could only imagine how painful that must have been.

Teal'c turned to her, and he put his fingers under her chin to gently turn her face towards him, leaving them there as he spoke.

"I will not speak of this with any but you and O'Neill. Your secret is safe with me."

She smiled slightly. "I know."

He smoothed his thumb over her chin, a gesture of affection she'd never had from him before, and then he withdrew his hand and resumed his position, staring out into the dark night.

"Go and sleep, Samantha."

Sam didn't move for a moment, looking at him carefully, trying to figure out the change in the man she once knew so well. She got the unnerving impression that he now knew her better than she knew herself. To be fair, he'd known her longer than she had. It was an acutely weird sensation.

She sighed, realising this was a puzzle she wouldn't solve any time soon, and that he wasn't going to help her with it. She patted his shoulder wordlessly as she stood, and headed off to the tent she was sharing with Cam.

 _So Teal'c knows_ , she thought. _But … he's Teal'c, so we can trust him. That's really all there is to it._


	41. The Ark of Truth

**The Ark of Truth**

 _Summary: SG-1 travel to the Ori galaxy and find the Ark of Truth, an Ancient device that can convince anyone who looks at it that the Ori are not gods. Daniel, Vala, Teal'c and Tomin find it, and use it on the Doci. The effect is transmitted to the Priors via his staff, which robs Adria of a good deal of her power. This levels the playing field and allows Morgan Le Fay to attack Adria, effectively neutralising her as Oma Desala did with Anubis. Meanwhile, Sam and Cameron battle replicators aboard the Odyssey, and due to needing to use the Asgard core to do that, are cornered by a group of Ori ships. They defeat the replicators and are saved from destruction due to the Ark's signal reaching the Priors commanding the ships. Back in the Milky Way, the device is used on a Prior at the SGC, which transmits the signal to the other Priors in the Milky Way galaxy. Without the Ori, and with the Priors now on side, the Ori threat is no more. Mitchell, who got thoroughly beaten up by a replicator controlled CIA agent on the Odyssey, recovers in the infirmary. Vala and Tomin agree to go their separate ways in terms of their marriage, effectively divorcing._

* * *

Sam brushed her long blonde hair back behind her shoulders, and took the pool cue from Vala with a wink. She was having a great time. Sam, Vala, Daniel, Teal'c and Jack were out at a quiet bar having a private celebration for their victory over Adria and the Ori armies. There'd be a proper party when Cam was up and around, but in the meantime they were blowing off a little steam with just the five of them.

"Just to warn you, you're not going to get another shot." Vala said to the tall man in motorcycle leathers who had been unwise enough to accept Sam's challenge.

"Carter!"

She had just been lining up her first shot when Jack jogged over to them. She looked up at him from her position bent over the table, eyebrows raised in annoyance at the interruption.

"What?"

Jack waved her phone at her. "It's your brother, he says it's urgent. He also said he's left you six messages in the last two hours."

Sam straightened up abruptly, frowning. That couldn't be good.

She put the pool cue down on the table and grabbed the phone from Jack.

"Mark?"

"Sam, where the hell have you been? I've been trying to reach you for hours!"

"I'm out with some friends. What's going on?"

She heard Mark take a deep breath on the other end of the line. "Do you know a 'Cara Fields' and 'Jon Smith'?"

The teenage clones of herself and Jack. "Yes." She said warily, wondering what trouble they'd managed to get into to find themselves on her brother's radar.

"A buddy of mine at the Pasadena police department called me, he was tasked with getting in touch with you, but he figured under the circumstances it would be better if I did it. Sam … you're listed as the next of kin for these two."

"What happened?"

"Have you seen the news about the mass shooting at the Pasadena mall?"

She walked back to Jack nervously. "No, why?"

"There were a lot of fatalities, and … I'm sorry, but Cara Fields and Jon Smith were among the victims. They need you to come and identify the bodies."

She reached out a hand and clutched Jack's arm. He looked at her in alarm, and her team mates approached too, sensing the sudden shift in mood.

"They're dead?"

"It looks that way. They got the names from their wallets, but they didn't have conclusive ID and the medical examiner couldn't identify them from their finger prints or dental records. Sam, how do you know these kids?"

Sam stared at Jack, absorbing the shock. "It's … complicated."

"Some freaky SGC thing?" Mark guessed. He'd had the bare minimum of security clearance for the stargate program since their father had reconnected with him all those years ago.

"Something like that. Mark, they have a baby girl, what happened to her?"

"Uh … I don't know, my guy at the Pasadena precinct didn't say anything about a kid."

Sam shook her head in exasperation. "Will you find out, please?"

"I'll ask some questions. Sam, you have to get to the ME's office in Pasadena."

"I'm on my way." She said. "Call me back when you have an answer about the baby."

"I will. How old is she?"

"Uh … three months, I think?"

"She's probably been taken by social services. What's her name?"

Sam shrugged helplessly. "I don't know."

"Ok, I'll see what I can find out and call you back."

"Thanks." She hung up and looked at Jack.

"What's going on?" Jack asked.

"Our clones are dead. There was a shooting at a mall in Pasadena, California. They listed me as their next of kin, so I have to go and identify the bodies, and Mark doesn't know what happened to the baby."

Jack stared at her in shock.

"Hang on … what do you mean your 'clones' are dead?" Daniel asked. "Are we talking about the teenage clone of Jack from a few years back?"

Sam nodded distractedly. "I had Thor make a clone of me too. They've been living together ever since and they had a baby a few months ago."

Daniel gaped at her. "Why is this the first I'm hearing of it?"

"I have to go." Sam said, and Jack handed over her jacket.

"I'm coming with you." He said.

"Sam!" Daniel protested, and Sam shot a look at Vala.

Vala nodded. "I'll explain everything to the boys, just go."

"Thanks." She looked at Teal'c, who was unreadable, and Daniel, who was still staring at her with alarm and confusion. "Sorry."

Jack ushered her out the door and into the cold night air, and she unlocked her car, jumping into the driver's seat.

"Take us home so we can pack a bag, I'm gonna see if we can get a site-to-site transport to Pasadena from the Apollo." Jack said, pulling out his cell phone, and Sam brought the engine roaring to life.

* * *

A half hour later, they stood in Sam's living room holding packed bags, and Jack had his phone to his ear, having just let Landry know they were ready for transport.

They hadn't heard back from Mark about the baby yet.

With a flash, Sam's living room melted away and was replaced with a deserted, dark alleyway. With the GPS on her cell, Sam led them out into the dimly lit street, and navigated the few blocks to the Pasadena Medical Examiner's office.

Inside, she identified herself to the reception desk, and they were led into a small waiting room. She sat down on a plastic chair and closed her eyes.

Jack paced for a few minutes, and then stopped and looked at her. "Sam … this baby girl … have you considered that it might be …?"

"Beth?" Sam whispered. "The thought had crossed my mind, yes."

"I wondered, back when you first told me they were expecting." Jack admitted. "But I never really thought …" He trailed off, shrugging uselessly and sitting down beside her.

"We don't even know her name. It might not be Beth."

"And if it's not? Where was she in 2034?"

"Maybe we won't get to keep her." Sam said morosely.

"Who else could they _possibly_ have named as guardians?" Jack demanded.

Sam shrugged.

A young man in a white lab coat opened the door and poked his head in. "Miss Carter?"

"It's Lieutenant Colonel Carter, actually." Jack said frostily. "And I'm her husband, General Jack O'Neill."

"Sorry, Lieutenant Colonel." The man said, nodding. "I'm Dr Horner. Would you follow me please?"

Sam exchanged an apprehensive look with Jack and followed.

The morgue was exactly what she'd expected – cold, utilitarian, and fastidiously clean. Dr Horner took them into his office and explained the procedure, and then showed them first Cara's body, and then Jon's. It sent shivers up Sam's spine, seeing her own nineteen year old face, cold and lifeless.

Even though she knew that mentally Cara had been as old as Sam herself was … she looked so young. They both did. Jon had grown up and filled out since the last time she'd seen him, and even through the mask of death and the chasm of 30 years she could see the outlines of her own husband's face. She slipped her hand into Jack's, and nodded stiffly to the ME.

"It's them."

She signed what paperwork she needed to sign, and was handed a bag of their personal effects – keys, wallets, and cell phones. She emptied the bag onto a table in the waiting room, and she and Jack went through it all, looking for a clue about the baby. They found pictures, but no name.

It turned out not to matter though, as Sam's cellphone rang while they were putting everything back in the bag.

"Mark, tell me you found her." Sam said as she answered.

"She was taken from the crime scene straight into the custody of social services. Her name is Elizabeth Janet Fields."

Sam closed her eyes and inhaled with a tiny sob. "It's Beth." She said to Jack in a whisper.

He grasped her upper arms and touched his forehead to hers.

"Where is she?" Sam asked her brother. "Can we take her?"

"She's in a facility a couple of miles north of the police precinct. The custody issue is a little complicated though … do you know if they left special instructions about guardianship?"

"I can't imagine that they didn't, and if they did I'm certain they would have named Jack and I as guardians." Sam insisted.

"Ok. Well, as you _are_ listed as next of kin they'll probably let you take her on a temporary custody basis until the will is located. Have you managed to catch a flight yet?"

"We're in the Pasadena ME's office right now." Sam said.

There was a beat of silence. "That was fast." Mark commented.

Sam grimaced at the unavoidable slip. Mark's minimal security clearance didn't really cover the X303 program, let alone Asgard transporter technology. "You said the social services facility was a couple of miles north?"

"If you ask at reception they should be able to direct you. Listen, Sam, San Diego is only a two hour drive away. If you want I could come down there and lend you a hand."

Sam looked at Jack, questioning. He was close enough that he could hear Mark's side of the conversation, and he canted his head and shrugged. "Up to you." He whispered.

"Yes please." Sam said to Mark. They could use the help navigating the California legal system.

"Ok. Sit tight, I'll be there as fast as I can."

"Thank you." She said.

"You're welcome, sis."

* * *

A couple of hours later, Sam was almost dozing in the social services waiting room when Mark arrived. He spotted her and made a beeline to her as she stood up tiredly, and he wrapped his arms around her in a very welcome hug.

"How are you doing?" Mark asked.

"They haven't let us see her yet." Sam said, her voice muffled in his jacket.

He pulled back, frowning. "What's going on?"

"It's the night shift." Sam said, with a helpless shrug. "They won't release her till morning. Jack's out buying formula and nappies and all that stuff at a 24 hour supermarket."

Mark nodded and sat down, and she sank back into her own seat with a sigh.

"I'm sorry, I feel like a jerk for asking you to come down here in the middle of the night when nothing's going to happen until the morning." She apologised.

"Don't worry about it." Mark assured her. "If this kid's going to be my niece I want to help any way I can."

Sam smiled. "Thanks."

"Have you got a hotel room or something?"

Sam shook her head. "We'd only be in it for a few hours. They said we could just wait here, and I'd rather not leave."

Mark shook his head, bemused. "I don't understand how you can be next of kin to two people I've never heard of, or how you could have been named as legal guardian to a kid whose name you didn't even know?"

Sam winced. "It's … very complicated."

"Yeah, I got that."

Sam looked at him contemplatively for a moment, but then decided there was really no harm in telling him. They had kept Cara Fields a secret from the US government, so how much worse was it really to keep Mark's unauthorised knowledge of the clones a secret too? She glanced around, but there was no one in earshot.

"Jon Smith and Cara Fields were genetically identical human clones of Jack and myself. They were created a few years ago, with the appearance of Jack and I aged fifteen, but with our full adult memories and personalities. We didn't really keep in touch, because that would have been weird for all of us, but genetically speaking, their daughter is our daughter."

Mark stared at her, speechless. "Jesus, Sammie."

Sam smiled wryly. "Tell me about it."

Mark chuckled. "Well, I guess that goes some way to explaining what I just heard from my guy at the precinct."

"What's that?"

"An eye witness account has your 'clones' saving a couple of dozen lives by taking on the shooters themselves. That's how they got killed."

Sam let out a deep breath and let her head fall back against the wall behind her. "I can't say I'm surprised."

"It sounded weird, for a couple of nineteen year olds with a baby in tow, but now …"

"They were us, with all of our training … and they knew if anything happened to them we'd take care of Beth." Sam sat up straight suddenly. "Oh my _God_ , she knew. I told her Jack and I were having trouble conceiving, and then she went and had a girl, and she named her Elizabeth because she _knew_ something was going to happen and her baby was going to end up being my Beth."

Mark looked completely confused. "What?"

Sam grimaced awkwardly. "Nothing, never mind."

"You and Jack have been trying to get pregnant?" Mark asked.

Sam nodded. "Yeah, for about a year now."

Mark squeezed her hand. "I'm sorry, I didn't know."

"It doesn't matter now. I've got a three month old that any DNA test will confirm is genetically my daughter."

"You can't do anything the easy way, can you?" He teased.

"Nope." She grinned a little at him.

* * *

Sam and Jack met their baby daughter for the first time at 0930 the following morning. She was screaming her little head off in the arms of a nurse, red faced and wriggling in a little pink onesie.

"May I?" Jack asked, reaching out to take her. The nurse nodded, looking a little relieved, and transferred the squirming infant into Jack's arms. He settled her tiny form against his chest, and adopted a swaying, bobbing motion that had little Beth calm again inside a minute.

Sam watched it all with her heart in her throat, Mark's arm around her shoulders supportively. "Cute kid you've got there." Her brother whispered in her ear. She just nodded, transfixed.

Mark left them to talk to the social worker about the terms of release, and Sam approached Jack cautiously. He smiled at her with a sparkle in his eye. "I think she likes me."

Sam looked at the tiny creature, and suddenly Beth turned her head and looked right at Sam, with impossibly blue eyes.

"Hey there." Sam breathed, and stroked the little girl's arm tentatively.

"Do you want a turn?" Jack asked. She looked up at him, startled.

"Yes." She said, but then shifted uncomfortably at the reality of it. "Um, I'm not sure how to … I mean I've never …"

Jack nodded. "It's easy. Go sit down."

She complied, and Jack shifted the baby in his arms with the confidence of experience, laying her with her head supported in the crook of Sam's elbow. "She's so tiny." Sam said with a chuckle, as the little girl wriggled and kicked in the new person's arms.

"She'll get bigger real quick, trust me." He said, with a far-away tone in his voice. Sam looked up at him in sympathy, knowing he was thinking of Charlie.

Beth grew impatient with the situation, screwing up her face with the threat of a scream.

"She probably needs feeding." Jack said. "Stand up and rock her for a bit, I'll get her some formula and then after we feed her we'll see about getting out of here."

Sam nodded, shifting Beth more securely into her arms so she could stand. She tried to mimic the rocking motion she'd seen Jack use before, and after a couple of minutes Beth's angry wails had faded, and she went back to staring at Sam curiously.

Sam wondered idly if the baby thought she smelled like Cara.

* * *

A couple of hours later, they had Beth strapped into a brand new baby carrier in the back of Mark's car, with Jack in the back next to her and Sam up front but twisted almost fully around in her seatbelt to stare at what little she could see of the tiny wonder in the baby carrier, as Mark drove them to Cara and Jon's address.

"This is it." Mark said, pulling up outside an apartment building in a nice residential suburb of Pasadena.

"Nice place." Jack commented, as he started unbuckling Beth from the seat.

"Cara told me they were doing pretty well for themselves, financially." Sam said. She didn't mention in front of her brother, the cop, that her clone almost certainly wasn't paying any tax on her 'under the table' earnings.

They went up to the apartment, and unlocked the door with the keys they'd got from the ME's office with the couple's personal effects.

"At least we won't need to buy a whole bunch of baby stuff." Jack said, as they took in the scene. Every surface seemed to sport something baby-related.

"We should try and find their legal paperwork." Mark said. "If they've got a will, there should be a copy of it, or at least some details about the solicitor's office holding it."

Sam nodded, and quickly located the office. It was organised in her own familiar system, so she had the paperwork in hand within minutes. "Here we go." She called, and Jack appeared in the doorway, holding Beth.

She scanned through the will quickly, and then let out a sigh of relief, smiling at Jack. "We were right, they left her to us. Along with everything else they own."

Jack grinned, and kissed the top of Beth's head. "Guess you're ours now, sweetheart." He whispered.

"I'll call social services and get the ball rolling." Mark offered, and Sam squeezed his arm with a smile.

"Thanks Mark, I really appreciate it."

She walked up to Jack's side, and put a hand to her daughter's back, kissing the baby's forehead herself before resting her head on Jack's shoulder.

"We're still going to have Jake the old fashioned way, right?" Jack muttered to her.

Sam chuckled. "I very much hope so."

* * *

Sam and Jack lived in Cara and Jon's apartment for a while as they packed up the young couple's belongings, made arrangements for a small funeral, cared for their new daughter, and went through the process of legally adopting her. As the war with the Ori was now officially over, it hadn't been too difficult to arrange some last minute maternity and paternity leave.

Cassie was the first to come visit, and doted on the baby for hours while Sam and Jack took the opportunity to get some work done sorting through Cara and Jon's things. Daniel, Teal'c, Cameron and Vala were next. Daniel was still sulking that he'd been the last to know – not counting Cameron – about Sam's clone and their baby. It turned out this was one more secret that Sam had blabbed about to Teal'c, during the fifty years that Teal'c alone remembered spending on the Odyssey.

Cameron - still pretty beat up from his recent ordeal with the Replicators but well enough to have broken out of the infirmary at last - embarrassed Sam, treating her like a queen and calling her Mama, and he turned out to be a baby whisperer. All he had to do was pick Beth up and she would immediately stop crying and gaze at him. Jack teased that it was his daughter's first crush.

They held the funeral at a nearby cemetery. Sam had half expected it would only be SG-1 and Mark, but while going through the paraphernalia of Cara and Jon's lives they'd discovered quite the network of friends and colleagues, and the crowd that turned up for the funeral was upwards of twenty strong. They had decided that Sam would identify herself as being Cara's aunt, since the smaller age gap meant Sam bore more of a resemblance to Cara than Jack did to Jon, and the funeral guests all accepted that without question.

When the adoption had gone through and they were finally ready to move back home, Sam took Beth on a flight alone, while Jack drove a truck full of the baby things and the few possessions of Cara and Jon's that they'd opted to keep, on the long journey from Pasadena, California to Colorado Springs, Colorado. The flight was a nightmare, Beth cried almost the entire time, and by the time they reached the terminal at the Colorado Springs Municipal Airport, Sam was close to tears herself with the stress of failing to keep her daughter quiet and happy.

Vala and Daniel met her at the terminal, and Vala plucked the baby from Sam's arms happily while Sam fell into the hug Daniel offered.

"Rough flight?" Daniel asked, at Sam's uncharacteristic silent clinginess.

"I'm a terrible mother." Sam moaned softly, and Daniel had the audacity to laugh.

"Don't be ridiculous Sam, you're a great mom. All babies are nightmares on flights."

"How would you know?"

"Archaeologist, remember?" He said, pulling back from the hug and grinning at her. "I've flown all over the world. Trust me, babies and flights don't mix." He nodded his head in the direction of Vala, who was cooing happily at the little girl in her arms. "See? She's fine now."

"That's because _Vala_ would be a great mom." Sam argued, with a sly sideways smile at Daniel, who was staring at the pair with a slightly sappy smile on his face.

He jumped, suddenly realising Sam had spoken and he'd been caught staring. "What?"

"Nothing." She laughed. "Let's get out of here before Beth decides she wants feeding again."

* * *

It quickly became apparent once Jack turned up with the truck, that Sam's house was too small. She hadn't realised how much clutter came with such a tiny person, and her house had already been a little on the cramped side with the addition of so many of Jack's things, due to the time he split between her house in Colorado Springs and his in Washington DC.

And then there were the gifts. With Sam on maternity leave, word had spread around the SGC like wildfire about the new addition to their little family, and Cassie had set up shop in Sam's house while she and Jack were in California, to receive and catalogue a deluge of presents of toys and clothes and various baby paraphernalia. Sam worried that this meant the cat was finally out of the bag in regard to her relationship with Jack, but there wasn't a great deal she could do about it if that were the case, and doubtless it was bound to happen eventually. Most likely it would have happened if she had ever succeeded in getting pregnant.

Still, a decision had to be made.

"It's obvious, really. We'll buy a new house." Jack said, after they'd got Beth down to sleep one evening.

"That's not actually the part I wanted us to talk about." Sam said, raising her eyebrows at him significantly.

He stared back blankly. "What?"

Sam rolled her eyes. "Our jobs. We were supposed to have a nine month pregnancy to figure out what we were going to do with our jobs and our living situation when the baby arrived …"

"Didn't we already agree _years_ ago that I was gonna retire and move back here when the first kid came along?"

Sam frowned and put her hands on her hips. "That's my point. It was _years_ ago, and … things have changed a little since then."

"What things?" Jack asked, confused.

"Well … you don't hate your job nearly as much as you used to, and now that we've won the war – again – I'm not really needed on SG-1."

"Ok, but you can't quit. You've got to make General." Jack reminded her.

"I'm not suggesting that I quit, but I don't necessarily need to stay posted here."

"Sam, I hate DC. I don't want to raise our kid there." Jack protested.

"Ok, but …" She sighed in exasperation. "I just worry that if you retire you'll be bored and you'll end up resenting me for it."

"I have retired voluntarily on more than one occasion before, you know. And that was without having a _baby_ to occupy my time."

Sam just looked at him carefully. He chuckled and kissed her. "It's cute that you're worried, Carter, but honestly, what I want right now is to live here in the Springs with you and Beth. I don't care about anything else."

"Ok." She conceded. "Then I guess we need to buy a house."

"Yeah, like, yesterday." Jack said, surveying the general chaos with a disgruntled air. They couldn't move for cardboard boxes and packing crates full of baby stuff. It was ridiculous.

* * *

They ended up buying a big five-bedroom house, not far from Jack's old place. The theory (in Jack's mind at least) was that they needed a room for themselves, a room for Beth, a room for Jake when he eventually came along, a guest room, and a room for Cassie (although Sam protested that this wasn't strictly necessary as the 21 year-old had her own apartment now, and could have used the guest room on visits). The reality was that they had one bedroom in use (at least while Beth's crib was set up in their room) and four empty or used as storage, which Sam hated, but agreed to learn to live with on the basis that it wouldn't be that way forever.

It had a big backyard, was less than a ten minute drive from the SGC, and had a massive garage for Jack's truck, Sam's car and her two motorcycles. Other than the empty bedrooms, Sam loved it.

The President had talked Jack down from retiring, instead asking him to have a trial period of doing a slightly downsized version of his previous role, working out of the SGC. Jack harboured some serious doubts about the feasibility of that plan, not only because the Head of Homeworld Security really needed to be on the ground in DC to take meetings and brow-beat idiot politicians and members of the IOA, but also because he was acutely aware that his presence at the SGC would step on Hank Landry's toes somewhat. Still, the President wanted a trial period, so a trial period the President would get.

Sam, meanwhile, had left SG-1 and was in limbo a little, assigned provisionally to the science department, but only working part time, so that she could take care of Beth. That was the other reason Jack wasn't wild about his own job continuing – he didn't like that his working full time was making Sam feel that she had to cut back her own hours, so that Beth had a parent around and wasn't essentially raised in daycare.

It was a trial period, but he was pretty damn certain how the trial period would end.

* * *

SG-1 came round a few days after they moved into the new house, to help with the decorating. Sam, Cassie and Vala had gone on a very intense shopping trip, with little Beth in a pram, to plan the interior design of each of the four currently empty bedrooms and to buy paint and furniture. If Cassie and Vala thought it odd that she picked pale blue for one of the guest rooms and refused to buy furniture for it, they didn't comment, although from the looks the two women exchanged when the subject came up, Sam figured they knew she was hoping it would be another nursery at some point in the near future.

Sam choreographed the work being done, setting people up with paintbrushes or furniture to build, and carefully made sure that Daniel ended up alone in a room with Jack. Then she stood in the doorway with the baby on her hip, caught Jack's eye and looked pointedly in Daniel's direction.

It was time to give the archaeologist a nudge. Or maybe a shove, if necessary.

Jack smirked and nodded. He was on it.

Later that evening, Sam and Jack were sitting side by side on the couch, exhausted, watching Cassie play with Beth on the living room floor, when Vala seized them both from behind in a rough hug, one arm around each of their necks.

She planted a sloppy kiss on the top of Sam's head, and ruffled Jack's hair. "Thank you." She said, and then released them and vanished just as quickly as she'd appeared.

Sam looked at Jack with raised eyebrows, and he grinned. "Mission accomplished." He said simply.

* * *

"I have _nothing_ to wear." Vala announced dramatically, when Sam arrived at her friend's SGC quarters later that week to help her prepare for her date with Daniel.

She smiled at Vala indulgently. "Don't be ridiculous, you have plenty. In fact, most of your wardrobe consists of what I would consider appropriate date attire."

"Yes, well, that's because you dress like a man most of the time." Vala argued.

Sam glared at her. "I do not." She protested.

Vala rolled her eyes. "Just help me pick something Daniel will like." She pleaded, and Sam relented and picked through the clothing.

"I can't believe how nervous you are." Sam teased. "It's just Daniel. You've been the best of friends for ages, it's not like you're going to be struggling for things to talk about."

"Yes, but this is an actual _date_. He has finally agreed to _date_ me, and if I screw it up …"

"You're not going to screw it up." Sam assured her.

Vala laughed hollowly. "I wouldn't be so sure. We're both more than a little afraid of commitment – I'll probably freak out and sabotage it, and he'll let me because it gets him off the hook."

Sam frowned at the dress she was holding. She wished it wasn't so easy to imagine that exact scenario from happening. She turned round with a smile, and deposited the dress in Vala's lap before taking the other woman's hands.

"Then don't sabotage it." She said. "And don't put too much pressure on the date, either. Just … talk to him the way you always do, and things will happen on their own."

Vala looked sceptical. "So you're saying I shouldn't try and seduce him."

Sam's eyes widened. "Not on the first date, no. Just be yourself."

Vala huffed. "I don't know why I'm accepting advice on taking things slowly from you. You got engaged to Jack before ever going on a date with him, and you married him and had a baby with him before you moved in with him."

Sam squinted. "Technically I didn't 'have' a baby with him. We just sort of … happened upon one. Anyway, don't use me and Jack as a model, we've done everything backwards, we're a terrible example to follow."

"Worked for you though."

"It wouldn't for most people. We're weird." She said grinning, and released Vala's hands and stood up. "I think that dress is your winner."

Vala held it up against herself as she looked at it in the mirror. "It's a little long, isn't it?" She said, fingering the hem that came down just past her knees.

"Daniel's already seen all there is to see, you don't need to show off your body for him. This makes you look classy but beautiful."

Vala smiled. "See? This is why I need you."

"Glad I could help."

* * *

Sam was nervous that night. Beth seemed to pick up on it, and wouldn't go down, screaming every time Sam tried to lay her down in the cot. Sam ended up sprawled on the couch with Beth laying on her, a comfortable warm weight on her chest. Jack was in DC, taking some meetings and finishing packing up his house, so the two girls were alone.

She was expecting a call from Vala after Daniel dropped her off back at the mountain after their date, but her phone remained stubbornly silent. She was worried it had gone badly and that Vala was moping, but she didn't want to call, in case it had just run long and she interrupted them.

Eventually, she started falling asleep herself, and she gave up waiting. Beth was soundly asleep enough by then that Sam managed to get her down in the cot without waking. Sam climbed into bed, and fell into a restless sleep, worrying for her two friends.

* * *

She needn't have worried. Vala turned up on her doorstep the next morning, apparently having been dropped off by Daniel, to take Sam and Beth out for breakfast. Or at least, to have Sam take her and Beth out for breakfast.

She was grinning like a Cheshire cat.

"I take it the date went well?" Sam asked, sliding into a booth seat in the café and pulling Beth's pram closer.

"Very well indeed." Vala said, sounding very self-satisfied.

"Did you take my advice?" Sam asked, curious.

"You mean the bit about taking things slowly, not rushing into things, just having a nice talk as friends and letting things evolve on their own …?"

"Yeah, that."

Vala cocked her head. "Sort of? But … not really."

Sam just looked at her, waiting for her to elaborate.

"Did you know he speaks Ancient in his sleep?" Vala asked coyly.

Sam's eyes widened. "You _didn't_ sleep with him."

"Well, if I didn't, it was his twin brother."

" _Vala_!" Sam said, scandalised.

"Hey! Look who's calling the pot a kettle!"

Sam was surprised out of her mortification by the mangled cliché. "You mean the pot's calling the kettle black?"

"Is it? Who cares what colour the kettle is? Anyway, you slept with Jack and got engaged to him on your first date, so you're hardly in a position to judge."

Sam sighed. "I suppose not. So … you guys are ok? You're gonna keep dating?"

"Mmm-hmm." Vala confirmed. "And he won't be able to walk in a straight line for a week."

Sam groaned and hid her face in her arms on the table. " _Vala_ , please, he's like a brother to me."

"Although I must say, he's very talented himself. I was pleasantly surprised."

" _Vala!_ "

"Oh, grow up Samantha. I need a girlfriend to talk about my excellent new lover with, and I'm afraid you're it. Get used to it."

* * *

At five months old, Beth was sleeping more or less through the night, was sitting up, and had developed the most adorable giggle. She was doted on by her two honorary grandfathers (Hammond and Landry), three honorary uncles (Daniel, Teal'c and Cameron), and two honorary aunts (Cassie and Vala), not to mention her actual Uncle Mark, and Sam was seriously concerned that her daughter was going to grow up spoiled. When she voiced that concern to Jack, however, he laughed at her and told her it was better to have too much love than not enough.

It was hard to argue with that.

Sam had gotten into a routine, working short days at the mountain four days a week, and taking care of Beth the rest of the time. She knew Jack didn't like that arrangement, and after over a month, Sam was in two minds herself.

On the one hand, she knew Cara had been planning to be a stay-at-home mom. Although it wasn't a choice Sam would ever have made for herself, Sam felt she owed it to her deceased clone to honour that wish to a certain extent, and not let Beth be raised by a nanny, or spend most of her time in daycare.

On the other hand though … she knew that career-wise, she was slipping. As she was only on the base part time, she wasn't available a lot of the time to assist with any crises that arose, and she wasn't a logical choice when there was need for someone to take a command position, to cover Landry or lead a mission – not when she needed to pick up a baby from daycare at 1530 hours every day and only worked four days a week.

Jack's trial period of running the Department of Homeworld Security out of the SGC was coming to an end, and Sam knew he wanted to retire. It was good to have tried this … but it wasn't working. Jack was stressed and never home, and Sam was feeling more and more like a spare part at the SGC.

They had a plan, worked out in late night conversations when they had lain in bed in each other's arms and listened to their daughter sleep over the baby-monitor. Jack would retire, Sam would go back to working at the SGC full-time, and they would work on conceiving baby number two on their own terms.

Which is why it was a particular shock to be summoned one morning to the office of the Head of Homeworld Security, to be faced with Richard Woolsey, her husband, and Major Davis who was sitting in the corner and pretending not to take notes on a tablet, and to be offered a long-term assignment in another galaxy.

"I'm sorry, _General_ , you want me to go to the _Pegasus Galaxy_?" She asked incredulously.

Jack looked chagrined.

"It's a compliment, Colonel." Woolsey assured her. "While the IOA as a whole is reticent about the idea of putting a military officer in charge of Atlantis, your credentials are hard to argue with. You have by far the most experience in the stargate program of any candidate on the shortlist, you have a proven track record in diplomacy with other human and alien civilisations, you are an expert in Ancient technology, you've had numerous command experiences over the last few years, and more than that, the IOA and the Department of Homeworld Security agree that we trust you, more than anyone else, to do an excellent job. As you know, Atlantis postings are always voluntary, but we really hope you'll accept."

Sam looked at Jack. " _We_?"

He looked about as uncomfortable as she'd ever seen him. "It's a great career move for you, Carter." He said, sounding strained. "Command of our most important off-world facility. With this under your belt, the sky's the limit."

"We know this won't be an easy decision for you Colonel, given your recent adoption of your daughter." Woolsey cut in smoothly, trying to sound sympathetic. "That's why we're suggesting a six month interim posting, rather than a permanent one. You'd be there for six months, which would buy us the time to find a suitable permanent replacement."

Sam had to wonder if Woolsey and Davis knew that the father of her daughter was facing her on the other side of the table. Davis looked uncomfortable enough with the conversation that he might, but Woolsey had to be oblivious, surely.

She stared at Jack, trying to read his mind. _If I'm on a shortlist, he knew about this before today. Why is this the first I'm hearing about it?_

"Woolsey, perhaps you could give the Colonel and I a few minutes to talk it over?" Jack said.

Woolsey looked startled. "General, with all due respect, the IOA is as much a part of this decision as the Department of Homeworld Security. It wouldn't be appropriate to shut me out of the decision making process."

" _Richard_." Jack said. "I don't want to talk to her as the Head of Homeworld Security. I want to talk to her as her husband."

Woolsey gaped like a fish. If she wasn't so rattled Sam would have laughed.

"Mr Woolsey, perhaps we could go and discuss the plans for the next X-303 over some lunch?" Davis cut in smoothly.

"Um … yes, of … of course." Woolsey was still looking between Sam and Jack sharply as he was led stumbling out of the room.

The door closed, and Sam let loose her glare.

Jack winced. "Before you start yelling, let me just say, this was mostly Woolsey pushing the idea, and I really never thought the IOA were going to settle on you because of the military thing. Almost every other candidate was a civilian."

"Still, some warning that I was even on the shortlist would have been nice." She said acidly.

"I'm sorry about that." He conceded. "But the thing is Sam, it really is a fantastic career move for you."

"You honestly think I'm going to voluntarily miss out on an entire six months of Beth's life? She'll have forgotten who I am by the time I come back!"

"Not necessarily." Jack argued. "There's Midway, you'll come back for reviews, and meetings. We'll get you back here to visit with every chance we get."

"This is Atlantis we're talking about here, Jack. You of all people know how dangerous it is. You can't promise me this is a quick six month walk-in-the-park assignment with a visitation plan. I could get killed out there, and then what? Beth grows up without a mother, and Jake never gets born?"

Jack looked down at his hands. "I know it's dangerous. But that's just one more reason why you're the best person for the job. There's no one I'd trust more to keep that expedition safe. I certainly wouldn't trust any of the quacks the IOA are looking at as their fall-back options. And …"

He stopped, and Sam raised her eyebrows. " _And …_?"

"2034." He muttered. He looked up at her. "We know you survive. We know Jake gets born."

"It doesn't work like that, Jack." Sam replied in a whisper. "We can still screw it up."

Jack shrugged his shoulders in exasperation. "We take a risk every time we cross the street, or get in a car, or come into work on this death-trap of a base. Six months on Atlantis isn't a death warrant."

"I know." Sam conceded. "But … Jack, six _months_ …"

"She won't forget you." Jack assured her softly. "I'll make sure she doesn't. And you _will_ come back to visit at least a couple times during those months."

"And what about you?" Sam asked desperately, feeling her resolve weaken. "Are you still planning to retire?"

"Mostly." Jack said. "I'll certainly step down as Head of Homeworld Security. But I'll consult a little. I'll keep my security clearance, so I can still keep an eye on you and be there for your check-ins, but I'll spend most of my time taking care of Beth."

Sam shook her head, feeling cornered, and stood up, pacing a little. She _hated_ the idea of leaving Beth, and being gone so long … but in all honesty, this was a perfect job for her. And Jack was making it as easy as humanly possible for her to say yes.

"Do you _want_ me to do it?" She asked, looking at him helplessly.

"It doesn't matter what I want, you need to decide whether _you_ want it."

Sam shook her head. "No, Jack, this can't just be my decision. I need to know what you're thinking. I need us to talk about this together, as a team."

Jack sighed. "Personally, I don't want you to go, of course I don't. I'll miss you like crazy. But I honestly think this is the best thing for you, career-wise, and if you turn it down … you won't just be shutting the door on Atlantis. You might not get another opportunity like this. It will be sending a message that you're stepping back from your career to be a mother, and I'm not sure you'll ever be able to fully walk that back."

Sam closed her eyes and leaned over with her forearms on the back of her chair. "What if I say yes, and then when it comes right down to it, I can't leave Beth?"

Jack smirked. "Sam, you're practically genetically programmed not to let people down. If you say yes, then even if it kills you, you'll go."

Sam canted her head in oblique acknowledgement of the truth in that. She sighed.

"I can hardly believe I'm considering this."

Jack smiled sympathetically. "I'll take thousands of photos. I'll keep a video diary of her and send it through with the data bursts to Atlantis. I'll do whatever you need me to do to make it tolerable."

The reality of leaving her baby hit her, just then, and she lowered her head as her chin started to quiver.

Jack stood up and pulled her into his arms, uniforms be damned. "Hey, none of that. It's ok."

She took some shuddery breaths and hastily wiped away the few tears that had fallen. "I really don't know if I can do this."

"Look, they don't need an answer today. Take some time to think about it."

She nodded, pulling back from him and swiping at her eyes again. "So Woolsey didn't know about us, huh?" She said, attempting a smile.

"Nope." Jack smirked. "His face was a picture."

"Hilarious." She agreed. "God bless Paul Davis. Do you think they're really going over X-303 plans, or do you think Woolsey's peppering Paul with questions about us?"

"Oh, probably the latter."

* * *

Sam spent the next week as an emotional wreck. One day she'd be excited about the adventure, and the command post, and the opportunity, and then the next she'd clutch her baby daughter all day, imagining leaving her and feeling devastated just at the possibility.

Daniel and Vala came over for dinner one night towards the end of that week, with exciting news of their own.

Sam could tell something was going on, there were a lot of loaded looks being exchanged across the dinner table between her two friends, but they kept tight-lipped all the way through the main course, and the four of them were in the middle of a very mundane conversation about the state of Sam and Jack's dining room table when Vala apparently reached the end of her patience.

"I'm pregnant." She blurted out.

The three of them, Daniel included – as he had expected her to wait until an agreed upon time to announce it – stared at her in shock.

Then Daniel recovered from being beaten to the punch, and Jack slapped his best friend's back enthusiastically in congratulations, and Sam hugged Vala, and everyone was talking at once.

And then Sam thought about how she'd spend practically the whole of Vala's pregnancy in another galaxy and might even miss the birth, and about how it would now be another six months before she could even try to get pregnant herself, and another wave of grief hit her at the thought of leaving the baby she already had … and she burst into tears, and ran from the room in humiliation.

* * *

Daniel stared after Sam in shock. "What was that about?" He asked Jack.

Jack winced. "It's just bad timing. Don't take it personally."

"Is she still having trouble getting pregnant?" Vala asked, looking terribly worried. Daniel squeezed her knee reassuringly.

"It's not that." Jack answered. "She's been offered command of Atlantis for six months, and she's upset about leaving Beth for that long."

Jack moved to go after Sam, but Daniel stood quickly and intercepted him. "May I?" He asked. Jack nodded.

It struck him as odd suddenly. Once upon a time he wouldn't have dreamed about asking Jack's permission to be the one to comfort Sam if she was upset. Once upon a time Daniel had been the only one who would even try. But, times changed, and now Sam's emotional well-being was Jack's territory, just as Jack was Sam's. In a way, he missed being the one they both would turn to for that basic human need for comfort and reassurance.

He found Sam in Beth's room. The baby was sound asleep, and Sam was sitting on the floor by her crib with her head resting against the bars, watching her and crying silently.

"Hey you." He said, sitting down beside her.

"I'm so sorry Daniel, I didn't mean to ruin your news." Sam said haltingly as she tried to stop crying.

"It's ok. Jack told us about Atlantis. I know it must be heartbreaking thinking of leaving Beth for that long."

"She's just a baby." Sam said, fresh tears falling. "She needs me."

Daniel put an arm round Sam and tugged her into his side. He let her cry for a bit in his arms, and then she pulled back and shook herself.

"I'm really happy for you, you know that don't you?" She said.

Daniel grinned. "I'm pretty happy for me too." He admitted gleefully.

"You're going to be an amazing dad."

He smiled, and tucked a lock of Sam's long hair behind her ear. "Taking the Atlantis job wouldn't make you a bad mom." He told her firmly. "It's not for long, and when she's older she won't even remember you were ever gone."

Sam looked at her knees and sniffed. "I'll probably miss her first steps, and her first words …"

"We'll videotape it." Daniel promised. "And Vala will visit _all_ the time to make sure Beth still gets lots of feminine attention, and Jack's retiring so he'll be taking care of her 24/7 like some kind of Superdad …" He took her hand and smiled sadly. "You'll miss her like crazy, and she'll miss you, but then before you know it you'll be back, and she'll _still_ be your little baby."

Sam nodded and put her head on Daniel's shoulder again. "I should go apologise to Vala for spoiling her big moment."

"I don't think she's mad, but it can't hurt." Daniel agreed. Sam stood up fluidly and Daniel clambered after her, feeling awkward and old.

"I'm really glad you two have each other." Sam said smiling at Daniel warmly.

He ducked his head sheepishly. "My life will never be boring." He conceded. "And it's nice to have someone to care about that way again."

"Oh please, you couldn't live without her." Sam accused him. "She wormed her way into your heart months before you even admitted it to yourself."

Daniel rolled his eyes. "Fine, I'm head over heels in love with her. Happy?"

Sam beamed. "Yup." She hooked her arm through his and escorted him out of the room. "You better hope you're not having a girl. Vala will teach her to wrap you around her little finger." Sam teased.

"Ugh, I'm so doomed." He groaned. Then he gave Sam a sideways look. "But then again, between you and Beth, Jack is _definitely_ doomed, so I guess he and I can keep each other company."

Sam laughed, and Daniel grinned to hear it. _That's better_.

* * *

When it came time to leave, Sam refused to let Jack come to the mountain to see her off. She was in floods of tears saying goodbye to Beth, and little six-month old Beth didn't understand what has happening other than that her mama was crying, and so she wailed in misery herself, which only made it harder for Sam.

After that ordeal, Sam was certain that looking at Jack would set her off again, so she said her tearful goodbyes to him and Cassie in their house, and then had Cameron, Daniel and Teal'c drive her to the mountain.

The car journey was just about sufficient for her to pull herself together. She sat in the back with Teal'c, and he held her hand in silent support, and she drew strength from his calm and solid presence.

Vala of course, being pregnant and prone to the dramatic anyway, cried with abandon as she said goodbye to Sam on base, and that was almost enough to trigger Sam herself again, but she managed to hold it together. It helped that Teal'c stayed glued to her side. He was her rock.

She caved and called home one more time before actually leaving, stopping in the corridor to use a phone on the way to the gateroom, and Jack told her firmly that he loved her and she should go kick some slimy Wraith ass.

In the gateroom, she paused at the event horizon and looked back at her boys, smiling at her from the bottom of the ramp. "Take care of them for me." She said, meeting Teal'c and Daniel's eyes.

"We've got your back, Sam." Daniel said.

"Go." Teal'c said warmly, a real, gentle smile gracing his features.

She went.


	42. Reunion

**Atlantis Season 4 Episode 3 – Reunion**

 _Episode summary: Sam arrives to take her place as the new leader of Atlantis. Ronan almost leaves Atlantis to join his former Satedan friends, but when they turn out to be Wraith worshippers, he decides to stay with Atlantis. That's all you really need to know for the purpose of this tag._

* * *

Sam was quickly learning that Atlantis was not run like a normal military facility. Yes, there were military personnel, but at its core this was a science and exploration expedition, and with being so far from Earth, the military protocols and codes were somewhat laxer than she was used to.

This party was a case in point. The Atlantis expedition members got their kicks where they could, and so even though Ronan hadn't actually gotten around to physically leaving, the fact that he had packed up all his stuff and then unpacked it all upon deciding to stay was reason enough for a 'welcome home' party. As Sheppard had pointed out to her when he'd invited her along, they'd take any excuse for some cold beer and a chance to let their hair down, so to speak.

She opted to forgo the offered beer – as base commander she had to maintain a certain level of decorum, after all – but gladly attended the party as a chance to meet some more of the base personnel, and maybe socialise a little. She wasn't under the illusion that she'd be able to make close friends here – lonely at the top, and all that – but it wouldn't hurt to present herself as being friendly and approachable.

She'd pretty much finished making the rounds, mingling and making polite and smiley conversation, when Sheppard approached and handed her a can of diet soda with a knowing and satisfied expression. She raised her eyebrows in surprise at the beverage choice.

"How did you know?" She asked curiously.

"Intel from Mitchell." Sheppard admitted sheepishly.

Sam gave him a bemused look. She hadn't been aware the two had kept in contact.

"We bonded over a mutual love of Guiness when we met last year." He elaborated. "He's been sending me crates of the stuff whenever we get a shipment of supplies, and in the last one he included a pack of Diet Coke with a note to explain that you liked it."

Sam smiled fondly at the gesture from her friend back on Earth. "He's a sweetheart."

"I think he was worried about you coming out here by yourself." Sheppard said. "I gather SG-1 were a pretty tight-knit group."

"We're like a family, really." Sam agreed.

"Well, I know it's not the same, but you're welcome to hang out with us anytime." Sheppard offered genially, gesturing at his team with his beer.

"Thanks, I'll bear that in mind." She said.

"How are you settling in?" Sheppard asked. "Not missing home too much?"

Sam felt a pang as she thought of Beth, and fought to keep it from registering in her expression. "It's an adjustment." She said cryptically.

She'd made the decision that if anyone asked her directly, she wouldn't lie about her husband and daughter back home, but that she wouldn't necessarily volunteer the information. It wasn't that she was trying to hide it, and she did have a photo of Beth on her desk – albeit facing towards her and away from the door – but her status as commander required that she maintain a certain professional distance, and she didn't particularly want her personal life to end up making the rounds as gossip.

"Well, for what it's worth, I think everyone agrees that you're doing a great job so far."

She smiled at him, pleased at the positive feedback, as she had been nervous about how she'd be perceived by the expedition members, so soon after the loss of Elizabeth Weir. "That's good to hear, thank you."

* * *

A couple of weeks later, she was feeling both better and worse about her position. She'd settled into the role of expedition leader and the various responsibilities the post entailed, and she felt she had really begun to earn the trust of the people she led. But, on a personal level, she was struggling.

She missed Beth terribly. She'd actually removed the photo of her from her desk because she had begun to get distracted by it during her working hours.

Today, she would have a scheduled contact with Earth, and her first opportunity to see and speak to Jack since arriving in Atlantis. It would probably have to be an almost entirely professional conversation, as she expected he'd have to speak to her from the busy SGC control room, but she was still looking forward to just seeing his face and hearing his voice.

She tried not to hover in the control room, but she was there and ready scant seconds after the gate began dialling when the appointed hour arrived.

"Incoming wormhole." Chuck announced as the gate activated behind the force shield.

"Atlantis, this is General O'Neill with a collect call from the SGC, will you accept the charges?" Jack's voice came over the radio, and Sam couldn't help the grin that spread over her face.

"This is Colonel Carter, we'd be happy to, sir." She replied. "Please stand by while we establish a video link."

She turned to Chuck. "Patch the video link through to my office, please, Sergeant."

"Yes Ma'am." He replied, and she walked briskly across the walkway and sat down at her laptop.

Within seconds Jack's face appeared on her screen, and she grinned again, professional decorum be damned. She was way too happy to see him to control the urge to smile.

"Hey Carter." Jack said with a smirk. "Landry's here to go through the official stuff, and then he's going to patch you through to his office for a quick debriefing with me."

That sounded wonderful.

"Understood sir." She said. Landry's face appeared, and they went through the necessary housekeeping, matters of protocol and status updates, before Landry gave her a knowing smile and transferred her in a brief fuzz of static to Jack, sitting in the relative privacy of Hank's office.

"Hey." He said. "How are you doing?"

"Good." She said. "I'm settling into the job, and everyone here has been very welcoming."

"You look tired." He commented.

"I'm fine." She said quickly. "How's Beth?"

He frowned at her for the quick evasion, but let it go in order to answer the question.

"Misses her mom, but she's doing alright. Cassie's been visiting a lot. Vala and the guys have too."

Sam gave him a strained smile. "That's good."

"Seriously, Sam, are you coping ok?"

Sam ducked her head, taking a beat to reign in her emotions before meeting his eyes again to answer. "I miss her a lot." She admitted.

"Not me?" He teased.

"I miss everyone." She conceded with a smirk. "But it's harder than I thought it would be, being away from her."

Jack smiled sympathetically. "It'll get easier." He assured her.

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely. You'll get into the swing of things, and time will fly and before you know it you'll be back here again."

She wasn't sure she believed him, but she appreciated the attempt at reassurance, and offered a smile in return.

"In the meantime," Jack continued, "I've included a few photos and some letters from Cassie and the guys in the data burst."

"I'll look forward to looking through those later." She said.

He smiled at her, and then glanced down with a sigh. "My time's up. Take care of yourself." He said.

"I will. Give Beth a big hug from me."

"You bet." He gave her a last soft smile. "See ya, Carter. O'Neill out."

The connection dropped, and a moment later she saw the wormhole wink out through her window.

She sighed, looking down at her hands as a fresh wave of longing her baby daughter assaulted her.

"Knock knock." Sheppard's voice startled her and she jumped, as he and McKay waltzed into her office.

"Have you read the report I sent you?" McKay demanded.

She blinked at him, working to banish her emotions to the back of her mind and bring forth the stoic expedition leader.

"Ah … yes! You mean the one about the lab you found near the south-west pier?"

McKay launched into a diatribe about the importance of sending a team to investigate right this minute, Sheppard doing an admirable job of smoothly tempering McKay's freight train attitude. She could see why these two made such a good team.

"It's already scheduled." Sam said, holding up a hand to halt Rodney's monologue. "1400 hours today."

McKay looked at his watch and gave a discontented sigh. "I guess that will have to do."

"Anything else?" She asked him. He huffed a bit, but admitted it was, and left just as rapidly as he had appeared.

Sheppard lingered. "How was the scheduled contact with Earth?" He asked.

"Fine. No serious news. General Landry agreed to send the additional personnel you requested."

"Great." He said. He cocked his head and squinted at her. "You ok?"

She started a little at the question. "I'm fine."

"When we came in you seemed a little …" He waved his hand vaguely, grimacing.

She shook her head, forcing a smile. "It was nothing."

"Ok." He gave her a wry smile. "Sorry about McKay. I'm gonna go make sure he waits for 1400 and doesn't go striking off on his own."

Sam watched him go, and sighed again when he was out of sight. She opened her desk drawer and pulled out the picture of Beth.

 _I really hope Jack's right about it getting easier._

* * *

It was a cliché, but the nights were the worst. Long, dark, lonely hours, with nothing to distract her from thoughts of her family. She'd wake in the middle of the night and wonder where the baby monitor was, or why Beth hadn't woken yet crying for a feed.

She told herself it was ridiculous, she'd lived alone for most of her adult life. The truth was she'd been completely unprepared for the hold little Beth would take on her heart, or the degree to which she would physically ache for missing her.

A couple of nights after that first radio contact, she gave up on sleep entirely after a few hours of fruitless tossing and turning. She put on some gym clothes, and went for a run. In her first week in Atlantis, Colonel Sheppard had shown her the route he usually took through the city with his team, and she'd adapted it since then for her daily morning runs.

She'd just worked up to a good solid pace, when she turned a corner and almost collided with Sheppard himself.

"Woah, sorry Colonel." Sheppard said as he side-stepped out of the way.

Sam stopped, breathing hard. "No, it's my fault, I wasn't watching where I was going." She said, waving him off.

"You're up late." He commented.

She chuckled. "So are you."

"I'm always up late." He said dismissively. "Do you often exercise at oh-dark-thirty?"

"Couldn't sleep." She admitted. "I figured a run might tire me out enough to get in a few hours' shut eye before the morning shift."

"Well, don't let me hold you up." Sheppard said congenially. "Good night Colonel."

"Night." She said, and jogged onwards.

* * *

At dinner the following day, Sheppard's shadow fell over her meal tray in the mess.

"Mind if I join you?"

"Please." She said, indicating the empty seat opposite.

He sat down, and took a few bites of his dinner. "Did the run work?" He asked in a friendly tone.

She winced, caught between not wanting to lie and not wanting to admit her inner turmoil. "Not really." She admitted.

Sheppard frowned. "Sorry to hear that."

"It's fine, I'm used to operating on very little sleep." She said dismissively.

He squinted at her, silently assessing for a moment, before bluntly asking the one direct question she'd been hoping to avoid.

"Did you leave any family back on Earth?"

She'd decided she wouldn't lie if someone asked. Time to live up to that.

"I have a daughter." She said quickly in an undertone.

"Really?" He said, sounding shocked. "I'm sorry to sound so surprised," he added quickly, "I just … I had no idea."

"I don't tend to talk about my personal life at work, much." She said in explanation.

"I guess that's a good policy in theory, but it probably gets a bit difficult when you live at work twenty-four seven and your personal life is in another galaxy." He observed.

She looked up at him beneath her lashes ruefully. "Is it that obvious?"

"Only to someone who's really paying attention." He said. "You seemed kinda upset after the scheduled check-in with the SGC the other day."

"I'm missing her a lot." Sam admitted with a sigh.

"How old is she?"

"A little over six months."

"Wow." Sheppard winced. "That's gotta be rough."

"Yeah. She's adopted, but even so …"

Realisation suddenly dawned on Sheppard's face. "That's why you're only here for six months."

She nodded.

"Who's looking after her while you're here?"

"Her dad. My husband."

Sheppard blinked. "You're married?"

"Yep." She gave him a tight smile.

"McKay will be crushed."

Sam laughed. "I'm saving it for a rainy day. The look on his face when he finds out is going to be priceless. He's convinced I'm married to my job."

"Give me some warning when you tell him. I'll take pictures."

"You're on." She chuckled.

They took a few more bites of their respective dinners, sobering.

"Seriously though," Sheppard said, "if you ever want to talk …"

Sam smiled. "Thanks."

* * *

The next time that the SGC dialled in, Jack sent some videos that he and Cassie had made.

That night, Sam took a cup of coffee to her quarters, and curled up in her desk chair in front of her laptop to watch them. She was more than a little irritated to be interrupted only a couple of minutes after clicking play, by the door chime.

She got up and opened the door.

"Hey." It was Sheppard. "A few of us are getting together for a movie night, we wondered if you wanted to join us?"

"Uh, thanks, but I'm kinda in the middle of something. Rain check?"

"You sure? It's The Italian Job. The classic one …" He said, trying to sound enticing.

Sam smiled sheepishly. "I got some videos of my little girl through with the data burst today." She admitted. "I'm gonna hole up here and watch them all."

"Ooh, really? Can I see?" Sheppard asked.

She hesitated, but then shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

She led him back over to her desk, sat down in the chair as Sheppard hovered behind her, and hit play.

The shaky home video continued. Jack was the one doing the filming, so the picture was of Cassie, holding Beth in her lap and entertaining her with a brightly coloured rattle.

"She's adorable." Sheppard said sincerely. "What's her name?"

"Beth."

Sheppard chuckled. "I know you said she's adopted, but she kinda looks like you."

"We're actually related by blood." Sam said. "But my husband and I adopted her when her parents died in a shooting at a mall."

"That sucks." He said. "About her parents, I mean, not that you adopted her."

Sam smiled up at him over her shoulder. "It's ok, I got it."

"I'll leave you to it." Sheppard said after a moment longer of watching. He patted her shoulder. "Have fun."

Sam tucked her legs up under her when he left, picking up her coffee mug and cradling it in both hands. She had no intention of moving for the rest of the night.

It still hurt to be so far away, but with hours of video to immerse herself in, and with the friends she was slowly making, the pain wasn't quite so debilitating. Maybe, just maybe, she'd make it through this assignment with her heart in one piece.


	43. Doppelganger

**Atlantis Season 4 Episode 4 – Doppelganger**

 _ **Episode summary:**_ _Sheppard touches a crystal containing an alien entity offworld. The entity transfers into him. He then transfers it by touch to Teyla, who has nightmares featuring Sheppard as the negative force in the dream. Then the entity jumps to Keller who has a similar nightmare, and then to Ronan. They take action when it causes Lorne to sleepwalk, pulling a gun on Sheppard because in his nightmare Sheppard is a replicator. They discover the entity, but by then it is gone from Lorne. The entity kills the base counsellor, Dr Kate Heightmeyer. They try to track the entity, and discover it within McKay. Sheppard goes into McKay's nightmare to help him try to get it to leave, but the entity jumps to Sheppard. McKay goes into Sheppard's nightmare to help him in return, and they succeed. The entity is returned to its crystal, and sent back to the planet. The last scene is SGA-1 plus Keller and Carter converging on a table in the mess. None of them can sleep._

 _ **Author's note:**_ _Ok, so, technically it's never confirmed in the episode that Sam gets one of the 'alien entity Sheppard nightmares'. But, there are some missing connections between Ronan and Lorne's nightmares, and Lorne and Heightmeyer's, and Heightmeyer and McKay's. When you factor in that in the very last scene Sam is one of the people who can't sleep … I don't think it's too much of a leap. (Besides, as you may have noticed, I'm a sucker for Sam-angst - I'm so mean to her!). I'll start this tag with showing Sam's nightmare, and then the rest follows the episode._

* * *

 _[SAM'S NIGHTMARE]_

"Unscheduled off-world activation." Walter Harriman's voice drifted through to Sam's Atlantis office, and she stood up from her desk to see the stargate bloom to life through her office window.

 _Why isn't the shield active?_

She hurried through to the control room. "Walter, raise the shield!"

"Wait!" Sheppard was suddenly at her side. "We're getting an identification code. It's the SGC."

Sam frowned at him. "How do you know?"

There was the wet sound of someone emerging from the gate, and she looked down and gasped.

It was Fifth. And he was holding Beth.

"No!" She yelled, and dashed for the steps, leaping down them several at a time. "Let her go!"

Replicators, mechanical clicking and whirring insects, poured through the gate behind Fifth like a wave, covering the floor, the walls, the ceiling …

She couldn't get to Beth – someone had grabbed her arm and was holding her back. She looked back. It was Sheppard.

"This is your fault." He said acidly. "You weren't there to protect your daughter. You let the city be overrun with Replicators. Everyone is going to die."

He let go of her arm, but although she struggled she still couldn't move.

"Please." She sobbed. "Give her to me."

Sheppard walked around her and lifted Beth from Fifth's arms. "You will never see her again." He told her, and then stepped into the active wormhole.

"No!" She screamed.

Fifth walked towards her, a sick, almost juvenile smile of joy on his face. "Now we can be together forever." He said, and thrust his hand into her forehead.

 _Pain … fear … anguish …_

She woke up screaming.

* * *

 _[AFTER THE EPISODE]_

They stayed up for a few hours, SGA-1, Dr Keller and Sam herself, gathered around the mess hall table, talking.

No one wanted to sleep. No one talked about why.

At around 0200, Dr Keller put her foot down, insisting that they should all at least try to get some sleep. She offered sleeping pills to everyone. Sam declined – sleeping pills hadn't worked properly for her since Jolinar. They didn't knock her out, but left her feeling groggy and slow for the whole of the following day.

She went to her office, and spent the rest of the night writing letters to her ex-team mates back home.

The following evening, Sam went to bed early, exhausted enough that she figured sleep wouldn't be a problem. It was a decent theory, and she did fall asleep fairly quickly. However, she woke again a little before midnight, sweating and shaking and gasping for breath, following a nightmare of Fifth and Anateo, and her daughter screaming somewhere out of sight.

Too affected by the nightmare to attempt sleep again, she got up, and her feet took her back to the same table in the mess. She groaned inwardly when she saw the same five people sitting at it. She considered ordering them all to bed, but it would be hypocritical to do that and then not go herself. Maybe she'd give it an hour.

"We've got to stop meeting like this." She quipped drily as she sank tiredly down into her seat of the night before.

"Can't sleep again?" McKay asked.

Sam grimaced. "I got to sleep alright, but … I had a nightmare and woke up."

They all looked at her in alarm.

"Not an 'alien entity' nightmare." She assured them quickly. "Sheppard wasn't in it at all. Just a normal one."

If her nightmares could really be classified as 'normal'. She'd met a few shrinks who disagreed.

Keller sighed. "This is the worst time to be without a counsellor for the city. It's awful what happened to Kate, and I don't want to trivialise it, but we really need a replacement immediately."

Sam nodded. "I put in that request this morning. It might be a week or more before they can send us anyone though."

"Well, in the meantime I can try and cover." Keller offered. "I'm not a psychologist but I did my psych rotation, and Lord knows this job requires me to be a multi-disciplinarian often enough."

"I'm sure anything you can do will be appreciated." Teyla said, reaching across the table to squeeze the young doctor's hand.

"Given a little time this is a problem that will probably resolve itself." Sheppard commented. "Once we get used to sleeping without evil alien nightmares again."

"I found the sleeping pills quite effective." Teyla said. "Perhaps we should all try that again."

"I'm good." Ronan said. "I'm gonna turn in. Night."

They all chorused good night as he left.

"I'll take one of those pills, if you're offering." McKay said to Keller.

"Sure. Come on."

McKay and Teyla followed Keller out, headed to the infirmary, the three of them saying weary goodnights to Sam and Sheppard.

"Maybe you should take one of those yourself." Sheppard said to Sam.

"Wouldn't work. My body chemistry's a little unusual after everything I've put it through in the last ten years. You should though."

"I don't like them." Sheppard grimaced. "I always wake up fuzzy in the morning."

Sam smiled wryly in sympathy. "Still, you should try and get some sleep."

He sighed. "Yeah, in a little while. I'm not much of a sleeper, I'm usually up till the small hours anyway."

Sam nodded, and clasped her hands together on the table, leaning on her forearms.

"You're shaking." Sheppard said suddenly.

Sam sat up straighter and looked at her hands. He was right. _Damn._

"I'm fine." She said, tucking her hands back into her lap under the table.

"How bad was that nightmare?" He asked.

Sam winced. "Let's just say I'm not all that eager to try sleeping again tonight."

"You wanna come watch a movie or something?"

Sam considered. "Actually yeah, that would be great."

"Great." Sheppard said. "I'll grab some popcorn."

Ronan re-appeared and joined them before the movie had really begun, and the three of them lounged in the rec room, the guys snacking on popcorn on the couch while Sam curled up in the armchair, watching an old cop movie.

At some point she must have dozed off, because her comfortable position watching the movie morphed into insects burrowing into her skin, and the searing pain of Fifth's hand in her head, and a thousand of Fifth's torturous horrors flashing behind her eyes.

She wasn't sure if her scream had been real or just in the dream, but she became abruptly aware that Ronan and Sheppard were crouched on the floor in front of her, grasping her arms and telling her to breathe.

"I'm ok, I'm ok." She assured them breathlessly when she'd regained her senses.

She pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, forcing herself to take deep, even breaths.

"That was some nightmare." Sheppard said, sounding worried.

"I've had worse." She said, trying to reassure them. If anything though, it made them look more concerned. "Seriously, guys, I'm fine. I'm sorry for scaring you."

"That's ok." Ronan said, in his deep, soothing voice. "You want anything? Glass of water or something?"

"I'm good." She said, sitting up and smoothing her hands down her thighs tensely. "I'm gonna call it a night though. See you in the morning."

Sheppard and Ronan stood up as she did, and she could feel their eyes on her back as she left the room.

 _Damn it_. She hated that they'd witnessed that.

She got a cup of coffee from the mess, and then went back to her quarters, and spent the rest of the night watching home videos of Beth.

* * *

Apparently either Sheppard or Ronan had tattled on her. Keller summoned Sam to the infirmary the following morning.

"A little bird tells me you had a second nightmare last night after dozing off in the rec room." Keller said without preamble. "And that it was a bad one."

Sam rolled her eyes. "That little bird should learn to mind his own business. I'm fine, doctor. I've got a lot of experience dealing with nightmares."

"All that tells me is that you've got a history of nightmares being a problem." Keller pointed out. "Which given recent events is something of a concern."

"No offense doctor, but there's really nothing you can do about it. The problem will resolve itself with a little time, and in the meantime I'll just power through it."

"You need sleep, Colonel."

"I get enough." Sam argued. "Seriously, doctor, I know what I'm doing. This is far from my first run of nightmares, I can deal with it."

Keller huffed in exasperation. "I read your psych file. It shows that you do have an impressive track record of dealing with trauma outside of traditional therapy, _but_ that in those cases you have always admitted to confiding in a team mate. I'm a little concerned that here in Atlantis, you don't have anyone filling that role."

"I'm the boss." Sam shrugged. "It's not the same."

"My point exactly." Keller sighed. "If she were still with us, I'd have insisted you have a session with Kate Heightmeyer, but instead you'll have to settle for me."

"Doctor …" Sam protested, almost whining.

"It's not optional." Keller said firmly. "I'm making you an appointment for six o'clock tonight."

Sam gave a grumpy huff. "Fine."

Keller smiled. "If it helps, just think of it as a chance for us to get to know each other better."

 _Sure, except you'll be shrinking me._

"I'll bear that in mind." She said out loud, and left the infirmary under a black cloud.

She _would_ find out which member of SGA-1 had told on her, and they would pay. Big time.

* * *

It was Sheppard. He looked way too sheepish in the briefing later that morning, and was avoiding her eye.

After the briefing, she cornered him. "You tattled on me to Keller." She accused.

"I was worried." He said, spreading his hands in a 'what can you do' gesture.

"It wasn't your place to interfere, _Lieutenant_ Colonel." She said icily. Maybe it was petty, pointing out the difference in their respective ranks, but she was pissed.

Sheppard sighed. "Maybe not, but Atlantis is a family. You may be my boss, but this isn't a traditional military command structure. We take care of each other here, regardless of where we stand in the hierarchy."

Sam glared, but she could tell the glare was losing its edge. "I don't need 'taking care of'." She snapped. "This isn't my first rodeo, John, I can deal with it on my own."

"Just because you _can_ , doesn't mean you _should_." He pointed out, entirely too reasonably.

She didn't have a good response to that, so she just glared some more.

"Elizabeth would have talked to me." John pointed out.

Sam winced. "I'm not Elizabeth." She said, and stalked out of the room.

* * *

"Tell me about the dream you had when the alien entity was with you." Keller said.

Sam let out a deep breath and stared at a point somewhere over Keller's shoulder.

"Replicators came through the stargate and overran Atlantis. The human-form replicator who called himself 'Fifth' had come through holding my daughter, and Sheppard was there stopping me from getting to her, and telling me it was my fault. Sheppard took her through the stargate, and Fifth …" She paused, and squinted at Keller. "Do you know about the 'hand in the head' thing the replicators do?"

Keller nodded. "We've had some experience with that here, and I've actually read about it in your medical file as well. I gather Fifth used that method to torture you a few years back?"

"Yeah, well, the dream ended with him doing that again."

Keller nodded. "I wasn't aware you had a daughter. There's nothing in your medical file about a pregnancy …"

"She's adopted."

"Oh. How old is she?"

"Seven months."

"She's a baby." Keller said, surprised.

Sam said nothing, and Keller sighed. "I'm getting the impression you don't get on well with therapists."

Sam chuckled. "Whatever gave you that idea?"

"You realise this session isn't about me evaluating you or reporting back on you to anyone. I'm just trying to help you deal with the nightmares."

Sam felt a stab of guilt. "I know that, and I appreciate the gesture, it's just …" She broke off and sighed, opting for a little honesty. "Being a woman in the military, you get used to having to prove yourself. You have to be twice as tough as the guys to be taken half as seriously. If you show any sign of weakness, that's it, you lose whatever credibility you had as an officer, and suddenly you're 'the girl'."

"I would think at this point you've more than proven yourself." Keller said.

Sam shook her head. "Maybe, but, after twenty years, it's a mindset which is hard to shake. Plus, I'm new here. I have to show I can be the strong leader that this expedition needs, and I can't do that if people are muttering behind my back about my nightmares or my therapy sessions." She gave Keller a pointed look.

Keller frowned at her. "The people who know, don't think any less of you for it." She said carefully. "Honestly, with everything you've been through in the last ten years, it would be strange if you weren't prone to nightmares."

Sam made a non-committal sound of acknowledgement.

"Do you keep in contact with the team mates who have helped you deal with this sort of thing before?" Keller asked.

"As much as I can." Sam said. "We write to each other pretty regularly."

"How often do we exchange data bursts with Earth at the moment?"

"A couple times a week. Probably more this week, as we're consulting about the appointment of a new counsellor."

"I have a proposition. Write someone a letter, and be honest about how you're feeling. If, by this time next week, you're still getting nightmares every night, you and I schedule another session."

Sam nodded, looking at her hands for a moment before meeting Keller's eye. "I guess that's fair."

Keller smiled. "Good. Now, how about we go get a hot chocolate and have a girly gossip instead of therapy?"

Sam laughed. "Sure, why not."

"And I want to see baby pictures."

* * *

A sealed plastic cup of blue jello appeared in front of Sam at dinner the next day.

"Peace offering." Sheppard said as he sat down. "I'm sorry for comparing you to Elizabeth. I know you're not her, and it's not fair to expect you to be."

"It's ok. I may have over-reacted." Sam said, and then picked up the blue jello with a raised eyebrow. "More intel from Mitchell?"

"Actually that intel was from General O'Neill."

Sam rolled her eyes. "Have all my friends decided to appoint you as my 'keeper' or something?"

"I think they probably thought I was the person you were most likely to make friends with." Sheppard said. "I hope they weren't wrong."

Sam smiled. "I'm sorry for being a bitch."

"And I'm sorry for over-stepping. Truce?"

"Truce."

She opened the cup and smiled happily as she took a spoonful of her beloved confection.

"I don't know why you like that stuff so much." Sheppard said, watching her bemusedly. "It doesn't taste of anything."

"Our truce may not survive you start criticising my blue jello." Sam warned him.

He just smirked.

* * *

Halfway to Dr Keller's deadline of a week, the SGC called in, and after Landry took care of business, he handed her off to Jack, in the relative privacy of the connection between her office, and his.

"How bad, on a scale of one to crappy?" Jack asked. She'd sent Keller's suggested letter to him a couple of days previously.

Sam sighed. "Not as bad as after Fifth, but … this is the first time I've had nightmares that involved Beth being in danger. It adds a new dynamic that's difficult to deal with when I can't just pick her up and hold her to reassure myself she's ok."

Jack winced in sympathy. "Would it help if I told you she's fine, and sent you some more videos?"

"It certainly wouldn't hurt."

"She's started trying to crawl." Jack said fondly. "At the moment she's just slithering along the floor, pulling herself along with her arms, but sometimes she gets her knees under her, and it won't be long before she figures out the rest."

Tears sprang to Sam's eyes, and she looked away, trying to banish them with an angry frustration.

"Don't cry." Jack's voice pleaded softly.

"I'm not." She said firmly, pulling herself back under control. "Send me a video. Lots of videos."

"I will, I promise." He paused, looking at her sadly. "You got someone there you can talk to?"

Sam thought of Keller, and Sheppard. "Kinda, I guess. It's awkward though, I'm the boss, and the new girl."

"Maybe you could try Kelnorim-ing." Jack suggested.

Sam stared at him. "That's actually a really good idea. I did that with Teal'c a few times when I had trouble sleeping, and it seemed to help."

"Well, my work here is done." Jack said with a satisfied smirk.

"Shame you can't send me Teal'c, too." Sam joked.

"Frankly I think he would _love_ to come visit. He asks after you a lot."

"Well, I guess I'll see everyone when I come home for my three month review."

"I can't wait." Jack said sincerely.

"Me neither."

They smiled at each other for a moment, and then Jack had to sign off.

 _Kelnorim – there had to be some candles lying around this city somewhere, right?_

* * *

Sam had just started to truly feel peaceful, sitting cross legged on the floor of her quarters, surrounded by candles, in her yoga pants and cropped gym top, when her door chimed.

She opened her eyes with a sigh.

"Come in." She called.

The door opened, revealing Teyla, who looked a little stunned at the sight that greeted her. "I'm sorry, Colonel, I didn't mean to interrupt."

"That's ok." Sam said with a smile. "Can I help you with anything?"

"Actually I was just going to ask if you would like to join me for a sparring session, but I can see you are otherwise occupied."

"It's a jaffa meditation technique called 'Kelnorim'." Sam explained. "It helps me sleep."

"May I join you?" Teyla asked, and Sam blinked in surprise.

"Yeah, of course, please do."

Teyla folded herself down in a similar cross legged position opposite Sam.

"I often use meditation as a relaxation technique myself." Teyla told her. "Sheppard has berated me often for the use of so many candles in my quarters, however. He is convinced I will start a fire and burn to death." She said with a smile, gesturing at the dozen or so candles surrounding Sam.

"One of my oldest and best friends is a jaffa." Sam explained. "He used to have to do this everyday instead of sleep, so we all just got used to the candles. You should see his quarters, he must have close to a hundred open flames in there when he's really going for it."

Teyla smiled, and straightened her back, opening her palms on her knees and closing her eyes with a deep breath. Sam followed suit.

She didn't have any nightmares that night.


	44. Tabula Rasa

**Atlantis Season 4 Episode 6 – Tabula Rasa**

 _Episode summary: A disease is brought back from the mainland, and infects the entire population of Atlantis before the symptoms start presenting themselves. The symptoms as they appear are headache, fever, memory loss ... and eventually death. Dr Keller struggles to keep control of the increasing mass of patients, while slowly succumbing to the disease herself. Ronan and Teyla realise they are the only ones not getting sick, and the team realise that this is a mutated form of a common childhood ailment in the Pegasus galaxy, that Ronan and Teyla both had as children. It stands to reason the same treatment would work, and so Ronan and Sheppard head to the mainland to get some of the plant which will cure everyone, while Teyla works with McKay to override the ventiliation system, so that the cure can be spread to everyone at once. Sam orders the gate control crystal removed so that no one can dial in or out with the stargate, effectively quarantining Atlantis. Teyla and McKay are separated when things go downhill as everyone forgets everything, but eventually he, Sam and Zelenka find Teyla again, and they complete McKay's assignment with the ventilation system. Ronan and Sheppard get back with the plant. The cure knocks everyone out, and then everyone recovers, albeit at different speeds. It is alluded to that there were fatalities, although other than the first one, we don't know who or how many.  
_

* * *

Rodney was humming as he took the stairs up to the control room. Katie was going to be ok, and he'd saved the day. Not a bad outcome, all things considered.

He was looking for Sam; he knew she'd been released from the infirmary, but Dr Keller had warned him that Sam's memory was coming back a bit more slowly. Everyone seemed to be reacting differently. Some people – like himself – had been unconscious for a very short time indeed, and had woken up with their memories almost entirely restored. Some, like Sam, had woken quickly, but their memories were taking a little longer to return. Sheppard was in the third group – he was still out cold. Rodney was looking forward to ribbing Sheppard about the fact that he apparently had a hardier system than either of the Colonels.

"Hey." He said from the doorway of Sam's office. She was sitting at her desk looking at a photo.

"Hey." Sam said. "Are there any children in Atlantis?"

Rodney blinked at the odd question. "Ah, no. Why?"

"Where's my daughter?"

"I'm sorry, where's your what?" He asked, certain he must have misheard.

"My daughter." Sam waved a picture of a baby at him.

He chuckled. "I think you must be confused. You don't have a daughter. That's probably your niece or something."

"No, I'm pretty sure she's mine." Sam argued, frowning.

"Sam, I've known you for years, I'd know if you'd had a baby."

She looked very troubled by this, and looked down at the picture, smoothing her thumb over the little face.

"That doesn't make any sense." She said softly.

Rodney shook his head at the weird conversation. "Look, uh, I actually came up here because I found the gate's control crystal. We need to contact Stargate Command and let them know that we're ok."

Sam set the picture down and stood up. "Good idea."

She followed him out to the control room, and he re-inserted the crystal into the console.

"I'm dialling Earth via the Midway station." He told her as he entered the address, and sent the macro for the gate bridge.

Sam looked at him blankly. "Ok."

He rolled his eyes. Dr Keller should never have discharged her this soon. Although he supposed Keller had been a bit desperate, considering the entire population of Atlantis – including Keller herself for a short time – had been patients. That was quite a few more people than there was space, even with the mess having been converted into a secondary infirmary.

The gate activated, and Rodney went to stand at the screen to send a video signal, Sam following along beside him. "Stargate Command, this is Dr Rodney McKay calling from Atlantis. Please respond."

The screen flickered to life, and General Landry's face appeared.

"Dr McKay, Colonel Carter, I can't tell you what a relief it is to hear from you. We were getting worried."

"Yes, well, we have the situation under control." Rodney said. He looked at Sam, who was still looking a little lost. "For the most part." He added.

"What's your status?" Landry asked.

"As I'm sure Colonel Carter informed you prior to de-activating the gate, there was a disease which infected everybody on Atlantis, which caused amnesia. Only Teyla and Ronan were unaffected, and Ronan managed to get hold of a plant which effectively treated the disease. Thanks to a few alterations to the city's ventilation system by _yours truly_ , we were able to aerosolise the cure and spread it to everyone at once. About half of the base personnel are still unconscious, and of those that are awake, only about half of us have got all of our memories back, but it looks like everyone should make a full recovery within the next few days – a week tops."

"That's good news Doctor." Landry said.

"Uh … actually sir …" Sam cut in, with an uncertain glance at Rodney. "There were three fatalities."

Rodney shifted uncomfortably, embarrassed at having forgotten to mention that.

"I'm sorry to hear that." Landry said. "Do you have names?"

Sam looked to Rodney.

"Ah … not to hand, no." Rodney said awkwardly.

"I'm afraid I don't remember either sir, my memory has not entirely returned yet." Sam added.

Landry raised his eyebrows. "What does 'not entirely' mean?"

Sam grimaced. "I don't remember your name, sir, although I'm pretty sure I should."

Landry rolled his eyes. "Dr McKay, I trust someone who _has_ full command of their faculties is in charge at the moment?"

"Oh, well, I guess _I_ could ..."

"Good. Now, I don't know how much good this will do if you don't remember anything Sam, but I have someone here who is very anxious to see you."

Landry stepped aside, and Rodney blinked in surprise as General O'Neill appeared on screen.

"Hey Carter." Jack said.

Sam was frowning. Rodney thought that was odd – surely if she remembered Rodney himself, which she seemed to, she'd remember her old team mates.

"Jack." She said after a moment with a smile, although it was in an _overly_ familiar tone that made Rodney raise his eyebrows.

"So you're having some memory issues, huh?" The general said.

"A little. Jack … I have a picture of a baby in my office and McKay says she's not mine."

The General glared at Rodney. "And why would McKay say something stupid like that?"

"What?" Rodney spluttered, perplexed. "But … Sam's never had a _baby_! I'd know about it if she had!"

The General rolled his eyes. "She's adopted, genius." He turned his gaze back to Sam. "She's yours, Sam. Her name's Beth, and she's almost eight months old. She's home with Daniel and Vala."

"I don't understand, why am I here if I've got an eight month old baby at home?" Sam asked, sounding upset and frustrated.

General O'Neill looked pointedly at McKay. "McKay, would you mind giving Carter and I a little privacy?"

Rodney looked from the General to Sam in shock. "Fine, whatever, just, don't take too long. Apparently I have a city to run."

He stalked away, muttering in irritation. Sam had been in Atlantis for nearly two months. How could she not have told him she had a _baby_?

* * *

A couple of days later, Sam had the majority of her memory back, and was back in command. McKay was pissed at her, still put-out that she hadn't told him sooner about Beth.

She supposed he had a point. They'd known each other long enough that if there was one person in Atlantis she was going to tell, it should probably have been him.

The mess was still out of action, while the last few people recovered under Dr Keller's supervision, and so base personnel were eating their meals anywhere and everywhere. As an olive branch, Sam invited Rodney to join her for dinner in her office that evening.

"I can't wait until we get the mess back." McKay griped as he sat down opposite her at her desk with his meal tray. "All this eating everywhere is terribly unhygienic. What if someone spreads citrus all over a work station that I need to use?"

"I'm sure people are being careful with their food." She assured him, smirking. "And it won't be for much longer, the patient list is almost small enough to fit back in the infirmary now."

"Yes, well, it can't happen soon enough, as far as I'm concerned." McKay said. "Sick people should be in the infirmary, not in the place where we have to eat."

"Are you more upset about the food contaminating the rest of the base, or about the sick people contaminating the mess hall?" Sam asked, bemused.

"Both!"

Sam frowned. "I'm _sure_ I've seen you eat at your desk before."

"That's different."

"How?"

"Well obviously I know that _I'm_ not going to spread a substance that I'm deathly allergic to over my own workstation!"

She chuckled. "Well, like I said. It's almost over."

"Hmm. How's the memory coming along?" He asked.

"It's mostly all there." Sam said. "Occasionally I'll remember something random that I didn't realise was missing, or I'll find I don't know something that I should, but … it's a lot better than it was a couple of days ago."

McKay grunted as he shovelled some food into his mouth.

Sam watched him for a moment and then embarked on her apology. "Listen, Rodney, there's actually a reason I asked you to come and eat with me this evening."

McKay looked up at her with raised eyebrows. "You're transferring back to Earth to be with your daughter, and you want me to take over command of Atlantis because I did such a brilliant job while your memory was on the fritz." He guessed.

She frowned at him, taken aback. "No."

"Oh, well, what is it then?"

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "I wanted to apologise for not telling you about Beth."

"Who's Beth?"

" _My daughter_." She said through clenched teeth.

"Right." He clicked his fingers. "Sorry, not good with names."

There was that urge to eye-roll again. "I came to Atlantis only a few months after adopting her, and I've always tried to keep my personal life and my work separate, and so I made the decision when I came here that I wouldn't lie about her, but I wouldn't volunteer the information either." She explained. "It occurred to me over the last couple of days as I remembered how long you and I have known each other that it may have been the wrong decision, at least in regard to you."

McKay looked quite chuffed. "Yes, it may." He agreed. "I know you and I haven't always seen eye to eye, but I like to think we have a … 'special' … relationship."

Sam narrowed her eyes. "What does 'special' mean?"

McKay rolled his eyes and huffed. "You know, mutual respect for another scientist of advanced intellect … mixed with a healthy dose of the attraction of a man and a –"

"Ok, I get the picture." Sam cut him off sharply with a raised hand. "Let's just go with 'mutual respect', ok?"

"If you insist."

"I do."

Sam resumed eating, and McKay followed suit.

"So … how did you end up adopting a baby a few months before landing a long term assignment in the Pegasus galaxy?" McKay asked around a mouthful of green beans.

"Her parents died and named myself and Jack O'Neill as her guardians when she was three months old." Sam explained. "The Atlantis post was … well, I don't want to say _bad_ timing, but … it was offered to me, and it wasn't something I could really say no to."

McKay had put down his fork again and had been chewing furiously to empty his mouth so he could interject.

"Hang on." He said, after swallowing. "This baby's other guardian is General Jack O'Neill?"

"Yes, why?" She asked slowly.

"Isn't that a little … inappropriate?"

Sam frowned. "You _must_ have heard that Jack and I are married, surely?" She'd been in Atlantis for almost two months, and she knew a rumour had done the rounds several weeks previously, basically outing her marriage to the former Head of Homeworld Security. Surely someone would have gone to McKay for confirmation, or to rub his face in it, or just gossiped around him …

McKay's face was a picture. "No!" He exclaimed indignantly. "Apparently you are singularly useless at sharing that sort of information!"

Sam sighed and closed her eyes. "Sorry?" She offered sheepishly.

"When did this happen?" He demanded.

"About two and a half years ago."

"Well, that just takes the … dog's you-know-what." McKay said, sitting back and crossing his arms grumpily.

Sam smirked.

"In all fairness, I was actively trying to keep that part quiet so that it wouldn't be detrimental to my career." She explained.

"Was he still Head of Homeworld Security when you got offered leadership of Atlantis?" McKay asked suddenly, making the connection.

Sam glowered. "Yes, he was. But if anything, that was a pressure _against_ me getting this job. He didn't want me to go, it was the IOA who pushed for my appointment."

"I'm not suggesting anything untoward." McKay argued placatingly.

"I should bloody well hope not." Sam muttered, disgruntled.

McKay huffed. "So … you're married to Jack O'Neill, your former CO, and you have an eight month old baby with him. Anything else I should know, while we're at it?"

Sam smiled contritely. "Nothing springs to mind. Although, I still have a little memory loss, so who knows?" She joked.

"Funny." He said, deadpan, and took a big bite of his dinner with a level and disparaging stare.


	45. The Seer

**Atlantis Season 4 Episode 8 – The Seer**

 _ **Episode summary:**_ _Woolsey arrives for Sam's 3 month review. He tells her he will observe only, but very quickly he starts sticking his oar in, arguing against practically every decision Sam makes. Things reach a head when, during a stand off when two Wraith ships arrive in orbit, Sam opts to use the cloak rather than the shield, and tells Sheppard to wait before firing the drones, knowing the weapons fire will give away their position. Woolsey tells Sheppard he is relieving Sam of command and orders him to fire, but Sheppard listens to Sam, and the Wraith ships destroy each other._

 _ **Author's note:**_ _I've amended the end of the episode a little. In my version,_ _rather than Woolsey going back to Earth alone, Sam is going with him. I've therefore relocated most of their last conversation onto the Midway station, and have used some of the dialogue from that scene of the episode – I'm not claiming that as my own, obviously._

* * *

"Rodney!" John stuck his head into McKay's lab. "It's almost 1500, come and see Carter off with me."

"Yeah yeah yeah, just one second." Rodney said distractedly.

" _Now_ Rodney."

"Coming." He shut the lid of his laptop and followed.

A few minutes later John knocked on the open doorframe of Sam's quarters.

"Knock knock." He said.

She looked up from the duffel she was packing with clothes. "Hey."

"You're packing pretty light, aren't you?" McKay said, frowning at Sam's little duffel bag.

Sam shrugged. "It's not like I don't already have clothes back on Earth. I only need stuff for the 24 hour quarantine on Midway." She winced. "Assuming the IOA don't _fire_ me that is. Maybe I should have packed the lot."

"They're not going to fire you." John said. "It all turned out alright in the end, didn't it?"

"Woolsey had so little confidence in me that he actively tried to seize command of Atlantis in the middle of a crisis." Sam said. "Honestly, I think it's six to nine and picking whether I ever see this place again."

"Well, for what it's worth I hope they don't fire you. You're good at your job, and we'd be worse off without you." Rodney said.

Sam smiled warmly at him. "Thanks Rodney. That means a lot."

"Looking forward to seeing Beth?" John asked. Sam grinned the widest smile he'd ever seen on her, and practically bounced on the spot.

"Like you wouldn't believe." She said. "I feel like a kid at Christmas. Only better."

John chuckled. "Honestly, my biggest worry is that you'll get home and just refuse to come back because of your adorable baby girl."

"It's just a baby." Rodney scoffed. "Sam's a scientist, not one of those ridiculous women you see cooing at prams in malls. Atlantis beats babies, hands down."

John almost laughed at the expression on Sam's face. She was staring at McKay with a mixture of pity and amusement.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Rodney, but honestly, I may need to get Teal'c to physically push me through the gate when I come back."

"Why Teal'c?" John asked curiously.

"He's the only one I can't take in a fight." Sam said with a wicked smile.

She zipped up her bag and hung it over her shoulder.

"You're going to be bouncing off the walls with excitement for those 24 hours on Midway." John teased as they started the walk down to the gate-room.

"Maybe." Sam said sheepishly. "But then again, my travelling companion hates my guts, so that might temper my mood a little."

"Don't let him bother you." John said, waving a hand dismissively. "You've done a great job here over the last three months."

Sam smiled at him. "Are you going to be ok here dealing with Todd?"

"I'll keep him in line." John assured her. "And McKay, too."

"Hey!" Rodney protested. "A little respect would go a long way."

"I'm sure John just meant that you'll keep Todd in line too." Sam said soothingly, nudging Rodney's arm with her elbow companionably.

"Sure. That's what I meant." John said sarcastically.

They entered a transporter, and in moments they were walking into the gate-room.

"Colonel Carter." Woolsey greeted her, a little coldly.

"Mr Woolsey." Sam said back, in exactly the same tone. She looked up to Chuck in the control room. "Sergeant, please dial Midway."

John, Rodney, Sam and Woolsey waited in silence in the gate-room while the gate dialled.

"Well, this is awkward." Woolsey said.

"Yes." Sam agreed simply.

"Although I suppose it's a good thing we've got a whole day to talk everything over, on the way back to Earth." Woolsey commented.

John seriously doubted that would go well for the bespectacled man.

The wormhole bloomed to life, and Sam looked back at John and Rodney with a considerably warmer expression than the one she'd been giving Woolsey.

"Have a nice trip." John said, giving Sam an awkward hug around her duffel bag.

"Yeah, uh, see you soon." Rodney added.

"Thanks guys." Sam said. She glanced around the room, taking it in. "Keep the lights on for me."

She turned back to Woolsey.

"Shall we?"

"Ladies first." He said. John would swear blind he saw Sam actually roll her eyes at the IOA representative, before she stalked into the wormhole.

Woolsey gave John and Rodney a nervous look, and then followed.

The wormhole closed.

"Something tells me Woolsey's not going to enjoy the next 24 hours." John said with a smirk.

"No." Rodney agreed. "I don't think he will."

* * *

On Midway, Woolsey excused himself immediately to write a report, holing up with his laptop in a corner. Sam shrugged, and headed for the control centre. She was going to spend the time running diagnostics on the Midway station itself. It would save an engineer or two from having to make a special trip to do it later.

At dinner time, she headed to the small kitchenette and broke out some field rations, bringing a packet of it to Woolsey.

"Thank you." He said, looking at the field-ready packet dubiously. "Dare I ask what it is?"

"Macaroni and cheese." Sam said, with sarcastic enthusiasm. "But, like everything else, it'll taste like chicken."

She sat down in the chair opposite him – he'd monopolised the only table, after all – and tucked into her own meal.

"I don't know how you lived on this stuff for ten years." Woolsey said, after swallowing down his first mouthful with the demeanour of a man being forced to eat a live maggot.

"You get used to it." Sam said dismissively. "Plus, I was home on Earth more often than not."

"I suppose you're looking forward to going home now and seeing your daughter." Woolsey said.

"Very much so, yes." Sam said, although the smile she gave Woolsey was considerably more muted than the one she'd given Sheppard for the same question earlier. She was still on guard.

"I imagine it will be hard for you to leave her again when it's time to head back after your review." He continued.

Sam looked at him carefully. "Yes, it will. Assuming I'm going back, of course."

Woolsey looked up from his dinner and met her eye. "Colonel, for what it's worth … my report isn't going to be as unfavourable as you might believe."

"Really?"

He sighed. "In that moment, I really thought I was making the right call."

She presumed he meant when he'd attempted to remove her from command in the middle of a crisis, giving a member of her team an order that directly contradicted her own.

"It was a difficult situation, for everyone." She allowed, somewhat generously, she thought.

"I just have one question." He said.

 _Uh oh._

"How did you know that the two Wraith ships would fire on each other?"

Sam gave him a level look. "I didn't."

He looked disturbed.

"Are you gonna put that in your report?" She asked tightly.

"It probably would be better if I didn't." He said. "There may be such a thing as being _too_ thorough."

Sam smiled and shook her head bemusedly. Maybe he had a soul after all.

* * *

Sam knew there was no point in her going to bed at 2200 when Woolsey did – she was way too wired to sleep that early.

She worked on the station diagnostics into the middle of the night, and then finally fell into the bunk above Woolsey, and drifted into an exhausted sleep.

In the morning, she woke first, and was up, dressed and working again before Woolsey had stirred.

"Did you even go to bed last night?" Woolsey asked incredulously when he got up and found her in exactly the same position she'd been in when he'd gone to bed the previous evening.

"Sure, I slept for a few hours." She said, not looking up from her work.

He just shook his head in disbelief and went back to his laptop.

At 1400 Atlantis time, Sam stopped her work in the control room. She couldn't focus anymore, her stomach was full of butterflies. She sat down against a wall and closed her eyes, trying to imagine that she was in Teal'c's quarters, surrounded by the soft glow of his dozens of candles.

"Not long now." Woolsey sighed, obviously to himself. She glared at him, but he didn't look up and notice.

Meditating wasn't working. She tried reciting gate addresses in her head instead. And then the periodic table of elements, and then prime numbers.

She looked at her watch. 1425. She stripped off her jacket and opted for a little light exercise instead, to work off some nervous energy. Sit ups, push ups – jogging a couple of laps around the station. Woolsey looked pretty irritated by that point.

At 1445, Sam blew out an exasperated breath.

"It couldn't hurt to be fifteen minutes early, could it?" Woolsey said, obviously as fed up with her antics, as she was with the wait.

Still, she couldn't really bring herself to care about his motivations. "Absolutely not." She agreed, and headed to the control room.

She set the gate to dialling, and sent both the forwarding macro and the IDC.

"Just to warn you, Mr Woolsey, if you say 'ladies first', it's not going to end well for you." She lightly as they walked towards the open stargate.

He spun his head to look at her, alarmed. "Duly noted." He said, and strode determinedly into the wormhole.

Sam allowed herself a chuckle of amusement, and then quickly followed.

The familiar feeling of her boot hitting the metal grating of the SGC's ramp, was delightful.

"Sam!" A female voice squealed, and she was nearly bowled over by Vala, who threw her arms around Sam's neck as she ploughed into her.

"Hi Vala." Sam said through the curtain of bushy black hair covering her face, holding her bag in one hand and patting Vala's back with the other.

"Ok, that's enough, my turn." Daniel said, and Sam found herself transferred into Daniel's arms instead.

"God I missed you." Sam breathed into his BDU jacket.

Daniel chuckled, the vibration echoing in his chest. "Missed you too."

He released her, and she barely had time to draw breath before Cameron was on her.

"Hey you." He said, giving her a quick squeeze before releasing her.

Teal'c didn't move straight in for the hug, but gripped her upper arms briefly, giving her a deep, emotion-laden look, and _then_ hugged her, with enough force that she had to hold her breath.

Finally, she got down the ramp. Her husband was grinning at her. She wondered if she could get away with throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him right there in the gate-room. Probably not a good idea.

"Hey Carter." He said, with a twinkle in his eye. "Miss me?"

Stuff decorum. He was getting a hug.

* * *

It took far longer to get out of the mountain than Sam had hoped. It was, however, perhaps an inevitable by-product of the tumultuous events of the couple of days preceding Sam's return to Earth. It wasn't every day that they essentially captured a Wraith scientist who had a decent plan to fight the Replicators, after all. Not to mention the Replicators' massacre of over 150,000 humans across the galaxy, and that little tete-a-tete she'd had with Woolsey over the two Wraith ships and the city's cloak.

General Casey, the new Head of Homeworld Security, eventually took pity on her and let her go, and she practically ran to the locker room, where Vala was waiting with Sam's change of clothes.

"Woah, look at you." Sam exclaimed as she entered the women's locker room and got her first proper look at Vala's baby bump. It was only a little one, but she had such a tiny waist normally that it showed.

"I know, isn't it wonderful?" Vala said, stroking a hand over her belly.

Sam grinned fondly. "Everything going ok?" She asked as she started changing into the jeans and blouse Vala had brought for her.

"Mmm-hmm." Vala nodded. "Dr Lam says I'm the picture of health."

"Are you guys all coming back to the house?" Sam asked.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world." Vala said. "Assuming that's alright with you of course; I mean it would be understandable if you wanted Beth to yourself for a bit."

"It's fine, I'd love to have you all there. Not that I'm not planning on hogging Beth for a good long while, mind." She added.

"Cassandra's there already, playing babysitter." Vala told her as Sam buttoned up her blouse and shoved her uniform into the laundry.

"Wait!" Vala called as Sam headed for the door. She tossed Sam a leather jacket. "It's winter, you'll freeze." She scolded.

"Thanks." Sam grinned, and they headed up to the surface.

Jack, Daniel, Cameron and Teal'c were waiting in the parking lot.

Sam walked straight into Jack's arms and kissed him. Neither of them were in uniform anymore, and she figured the parking lot didn't count as 'on base'.

They got a little caught up in it. By the time they stopped for air, the other four had disappeared. "Oops." She said sheepishly.

"We'll catch them up." Jack said.

"Can I drive?"

Jack laughed. "Absolutely not. You break speed limits when you're _not_ rushing home to see your daughter after a three month absence. If I let you drive now we'd probably end up in orbit."

Sam rolled her eyes and got in the passenger side of Jack's truck.

* * *

Sam had the passenger door open before Jack had even pulled the truck to a halt.

Cassie was waiting at the open front door, with a little blonde angel in her arms. She grinned as Sam ran up the path, and Cassie held Beth out like a trophy, making the little girl wriggle and squeal.

Sam caught Beth up in her arms and then sank to the ground. She just sat there, tears pouring down her cheeks as she held her baby tightly, Beth's little hands grabbing at Sam's jacket, gurgling at Sam happily.

She had absolutely no idea how long it was that she stayed there like that, but eventually Teal'c helped her to her feet, her arms still full of Beth, and Jack put his arm around her, guiding her into the house.

Jack led her over to the couch, and she settled at one end with Beth perched in her lap, utterly mesmerised.

Jack crouched beside them, and looked Beth in the eye.

"Give mommy a kiss." He instructed, and to Sam's amazement, Beth leaned into Sam and her little mouth connected wetly with Sam's chin.

She didn't know whether to laugh of cry. She did both.

* * *

If Sam had had her way, Beth would have stayed cuddled on her lap for the rest of the day, but the 9 month old wouldn't have it. She was crawling now, and grew restless in Sam's lap after a while, and so they moved to the floor to play.

"Do you think she remembers that I'm her Mom?" Sam asked Cassie, who was sitting on the floor beside her while Beth played with stacking blocks.

Cassie didn't answer immediately, which Sam took as a heartbreaking 'no'. "I don't think her worldview is that complex yet." Cassie answered. "She does seem to remember you – after all she's shy around strangers and she's been perfectly comfortable with you. But … for babies her age, 'Mom' is the female who's there all the time. I'm not sure she's differentiating right now between you, and me and Vala."

Sam nodded, and tried not to cry.

"Hey, it's ok." Cassie said, catching Sam's expression and putting an arm round her. "When you're back here for good there'll be plenty of time to catch up on some mother-daughter bonding."

"I just feel like I'm missing so much. By the time I get back she'll probably be walking and talking …"

 _Oh God. I can't leave. McKay's going to be so disappointed in me._

"Maybe she will, but who remembers being one year old? You'll be back long before she starts forming long-term memories."

Sam laid her head on Cassie's shoulder. "When did you learn so much about infant development?" She asked curiously.

"I did an undergrad course on it." Cassie answered simply. "Plus, I've been reading stuff about it since Beth arrived. It's interesting."

"How's school?" Sam asked, although she already knew the answer for the most part. She and Cassie exchanged letters in the Atlantis data burst every week.

"It's good. It's certainly keeping me busy."

"Are you sure you're still happy going to school here? It wouldn't be too hard to transfer to another medical school if the course was better for you."

Cassie gave her a quelling look. "I'm fine here, Sam. I did pre-med out of state, but now I just want to live close to everyone. Besides –" she leaned forward and seized Beth, who squealed, and held the baby in a standing up position between her outstretched legs, "if I moved away I wouldn't get to babysit for _you_ , would I Lizzybit!"

Sam chuckled at the nickname.

Vala poked her head into the room. "The boys say dinner will be five minutes. Personally I think it's done right now, but Jack seems to think it's not edible until it's burned."

"Never get between Jack and his barbecue meat." Sam warned. "He takes it very seriously."

"Have they got out some dinner for this one yet?" Cassie asked, bouncing Beth a little.

"I don't think so."

Sam looked at Cassie with a bit of a lost expression – Beth had still been almost entirely on formula when she'd left for Atlantis. Cassie gave her an encouraging smile. "Come on, I'll show you what she eats these days."

They stood up and Cassie lifted Beth into the air easily, depositing her in Sam's arms. Sam's heart swelled when Beth snuggled in, burying her face in Sam's neck.

* * *

Sam fed Beth her dinner, with Jack's subtle guidance. It was technically winter, so they ate inside even though Jack had insisted on barbecuing. Afterwards, Jack and Sam disappeared with Beth to bathe her and put her to bed, while the others stayed in the living room chatting.

Jack tucked Sam under his arm as they stood together watching Beth doze off in her crib.

"I can't go back." Sam whispered.

Jack made a noise in his throat and put his face in Sam's hair. "Yes you can." He told her soothingly. "You're half-way there. It's only three months more, and then you'll be home for good."

Sam sighed, and a couple of tears rolled down her cheeks. "I've missed so much already."

"Not really." Jack argued. "Yeah, she's crawling, but she's still a baby."

"It's way more than that. She understands when people talk to her, and she has little babbling conversations with people. She's developing this whole personality and I'm missing it."

Jack turned and wrapped her in his arms properly. "She'll still have a lot of developing to do when you get back." He whispered. "I know it seems like a lot's happening without you, and believe me, I know how you feel."

She looked up at him. "Charlie?"

"I was gone for twelve of the first twenty-four months of his life." Jack told her. "I missed stuff, and yeah, it sucked, and it's time I'll never get back. But you've got the finishing line in sight. You just need to hang in there a few months more."

Sam put her forehead on his shoulder and took a deep breath.

"Come on." He said, pulling her towards the door. "The guys want some 'Sam' time now that Beth's not hogging your attention."

She chuckled, and followed him out of Beth's nursery.

* * *

"Have you and Daniel talked about marriage?" Sam asked Jack as she lay with her head on his chest in the middle of the night.

Jack's arm snaked around her back. "Sick of me already?" He joked. "Although I'm a little alarmed that you think _Daniel_ is who I should marry instead …"

She swatted him. "You know what I mean. Vala's … what, five months pregnant now? I just wondered if you've talked to him about _when_ or _if_ they're planning on … you know …"

"Getting hitched?" He sighed. "I brought it up once, a couple of months ago. He didn't really want to talk about it."

"We know they get married eventually." Sam said.

"Yes we do." Jack agreed. "And …"

"And …?"

"The last thing that 'old' Daniel said to me in the future was that he'd need me to kick his ass and tell him to just marry her already at some point."

"Don't suppose he told you when that point would be?"

"Of course not. Since when has any of this future crap been that straightforward?"

Sam chuckled hollowly. "I guess there's not really any rush. They've got their whole lives left to live with Serena."

"Hmm."

He sounded pensive, so she lifted her head to look at him. He shrugged. "I think he's still carrying around some issues to do with Sha're. I think he's half convinced that if he marries Vala, something awful will happen and he'll lose her."

Sam frowned and tucked her head back down. "Let's not push him just yet." She said. "Give him some time to work things out."

Jack chuckled and kissed her hair. "Yes boss."

She smiled against his chest.

* * *

Sam had a full week of leave, and then had a meeting in Washington DC at the Department of Homeworld Security for the results of her three month review. Jack came with her, leaving Beth in the capable care of Vala and Daniel.

Having left Jack to occupy himself while he waited for her, she headed into the Pentagon in her immaculate dress uniform, and presented herself at General Casey's office. Richard Woolsey came to collect her, and led her to a meeting room.

It was a long day. They went over what felt like every decision she'd made in the last three months, up to and including the visit from Woolsey himself.

By the time they'd done that, Sam was convinced she was getting reassigned.

She was completely shocked, therefore, when Woolsey delivered the IOA's verdict.

"Overall, Colonel, we have no complaints." Woolsey said. "We feel your command decisions have been sound, and although I must admit to some personal alarm at the degree of risk-taking in this last situation, in retrospect I can see that every decision you made was carefully considered, and calculated to achieve the optimal outcome."

He smiled at her. "The IOA recommends that you continue in your post until the end of your allotted time."

She was a little bit stunned.

General Casey added his two cents. "Personally Colonel, I wish we could convince you to continue beyond the end of the six month period, but Jack has assured me that's a non-starter."

Sam smiled tightly. "Yes sir."

"You're scheduled to return to Midway at 0900 on the twelfth." Casey said, looking down at his notes. "That gives us four more whole days with you on Earth. I'll need you to stay in town for the next two, so we can take care of some housekeeping, and then you can take the last two as leave."

"Thank you sir."

"I think we're done for today." Casey said, glancing at Woolsey, who nodded. Casey gave her a warm smile. "You're dismissed, Colonel."

"Yes sir, thank you sir."

She stood at attention briefly, and then left the room.

She sent a quick text message to Jack, and he was waiting for her outside when she got out of the Pentagon grounds.

"Well?" He asked as she walked up to him.

"I passed." She said with a surprised shrug. "Apparently Woolsey doesn't hate my guts as much as I thought he did."

"Way to go, Carter." Jack said, nudging her arm as they walked back towards their hired car. "Hammond invited us over for dinner. We'll go back to the hotel so you can get changed and then head over."

* * *

She almost refused to go back.

If leaving Beth the first time had been hard, the second time was torture. They choreographed it similarly to the last time, except that this time Jack came with her to the SGC, and Vala stayed at the house with Cassie and Beth. Once Sam had finally torn herself away from Beth, Teal'c drove her to the SGC, while she sobbed in the back in Jack's arms.

As she had twenty-four hours on Midway to pull herself together, Sam didn't worry too much about the redness of her eyes when she changed into her Atlantis uniform in the locker room.

Jack, Daniel, Teal'c and Cameron all came to the gate-room to see her off. She had a big hug with each of her guys, Jack included, and then Cameron signalled Walter to dial Midway.

With the stargate active, she had a last look back at Jack from the top of the ramp, and then all but threw herself through the event horizon before she could lose her resolve entirely.

On Midway, she cried for the next four hours straight, and then pulled herself together sternly, and got back to work on the station maintenance.

* * *

"Welcome back!" Sheppard said cheerfully, when Sam stepped through the gate and into the beautiful Atlantis atrium gate-room. Sheppard, McKay and Dr Keller were all there to greet her.

"I take it you didn't get fired?" McKay asked, and Dr Keller swatted his arm.

" _Rodney_!" She scolded, but Sam laughed.

"It's ok doctor. No McKay, I didn't get fired. You're stuck with me for the next three months."

"Have you got a picture?" Sheppard asked, and Sam pulled one from her pocket ruefully.

It was a photo of Sam holding Beth, the two of them beaming at each other, taken a couple of days ago.

"Oh my God, that's adorable." Keller cooed, peering over John's shoulder.

Sam felt her eyes tearing up, and furiously ordered her tear ducts back under control.

"I'm gonna go dump my stuff." Sam said. If she was going to cry, she'd rather not do it in the gateroom.

Keller went back to work, but Sheppard and Rodney trailed her all the way to her quarters, while they exchanged news.

She dropped her bag on her bed, along with the small box of gifts her friends had sent her back with. Sheppard handed her back the photo he'd been holding, and she looked at it.

It was inevitable really. She burst into tears.

Sheppard pulled her into a hug, and McKay patted her shoulder awkwardly, mumbling inanities.

She pulled herself together as fast as humanly possible, and McKay shoved a box of tissues under her nose. She mopped her face dry, and took a few deep breaths.

"Sorry." She mumbled.

"Don't be silly." John drawled. "This was always going to be the hard part."

"I almost didn't come back." She admitted.

"Well, I'm glad you did." John said, and McKay nodded emphatically.

"We need you here." Rodney insisted. "And I'm sure, uh … Beth will be fine."

Sam sighed. "Yeah, she will." She dredged up a smile for the guys. "I'll be ok, really, it's just that saying goodbye was rough."

They both looked at her sympathetically, and she took a deep breath and shook her head to clear it. "Let's get back to work."


	46. Be All My Sins Remember'd

**Atlantis Season 4 Episode 11 - Be All My Sins Remember'd**

 _ **Episode summary:**_ _The team have the positions of every Replicator ship in the galaxy, and they plan to use this intel to go on the offensive. The Apollo and the Daedalus arrive in orbit. Rodney hasn't yet managed to create an anti-Replicator weapon, and so plan B is that the two ships will pick off the Replicators one by one. This works for a while, but then the remaining Replicator ships retreat to the Replicator homeworld, thirty-strong, and the Apollo and Daedalus alone wouldn't be a match for them. Atlantis recruit Wraith and Traveller ships to help them. McKay has an idea, and creates a replicator of his own to act as a magnet, pulling all the replicators into one big blob which can then be destroyed by overloading the Replicator planet's ZPMs, while the allied ships take on the Replicator fleet. However, there is a hitch in the plan, when the planet's power grid goes down and they can't overload the ZPMs. Sam – aboard the Daedalus – has an idea to use the planet's composition to cause the replicator mass to sink and implode in the planet's core, and they successfully destroy the planet, along with all of the Replicators._

 _ **Author's note:**_ _I noticed Sam was absent for the episode immediately following this one … and hey, they defeated the Replicators. That's got to warrant a face-to-face briefing, right?_

* * *

The wormhole disengaged, and Sam was left looking at the now blank video screen, feeling a little shell-shocked.

"How did the SGC react to our good news?" Sheppard asked, appearing in her office doorway.

"I've been recalled to Earth to brief the IOA 'in person'." She told him.

"Really? Is that necessary?"

"I wouldn't have thought so, but you know what the IOA are like." Sam said. "They probably need a few more details so that they can find a way to complain about it."

"No way." Sheppard scoffed. "We just _defeated_ the _Replicators._ There's no way they can spin that into a bad thing. It's got to be one of the most decisive victories we've ever had."

"Well, either way, you'll need to take command for the next few days."

"Do you know how long you'll be gone?"

"Not exactly, but I can't imagine it will be more than four days. A twenty four hour quarantine on Midway there and back, plus a couple of days of meetings … that sounds about right, doesn't it?" She squinted.

"Maybe they'll give you some leave time on Earth, so you can visit with your family." Sheppard said optimistically.

Sam smirked sceptically – it was unlikely, as it was less than three weeks ago that she'd been there last. "We'll see."

* * *

The twenty-four hours on Midway passed quite quickly – possibly because Sam's mind was thoroughly absorbed, writing an in-depth report of the events leading up to their victory over the Replicators. She still managed to get antsy and inpatient in the last hour though, as she had the last time, although this time she resisted the temptation to dial in early.

Jack and Landry were waiting for her at the bottom of the ramp.

"Welcome back Colonel." Landry said cheerfully. "And congratulations on your victory."

"Thank you sir." Sam smiled. "Although Dr McKay deserves most of the credit."

"The Odyssey is in orbit, so they've agreed to transport you to the Pentagon tomorrow morning at 0800 for your briefing with General Casey and the IOA." Landry told her. "Consider yourself on down-time until then."

"Yes sir." Sam nodded, and Landry gave Jack a pointed look and walked away. Sam looked to Jack.

"Shall we?" He asked.

She grinned and followed him out.

"So tell me Carter, did you defeat the Replicators solely to get yourself a bonus trip home?" Jack teased.

She gave him a withering look, although it was tempered by the grin she still couldn't quite contain.

"Who's babysitting?" Sam asked.

"Vala." Jack answered. "The boys are off-world, although they should be back before you leave."

"Are they still operating as a three-man team?" She asked curiously.

"Yeah. As we're not fighting a war at the moment, there hasn't been a lot of urgency to replace you or Vala, and none of them are particularly enthusiastic about the idea of breaking in a newbie."

Sam chuckled as they got in the elevator.

"Is Beth doing anything new?" Sam asked as the doors slid shut.

"Not since you saw her last." Jack said. "Her legs seem to be getting stronger but she's not doing anything new with them yet, and we haven't got into 'first word' territory yet either. She's still teething though, so she's a bit grumpy at the moment."

"I can't wait to see her." Sam said, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

Jack smiled and nudged her arm. "I'm glad you got an extra visit."

"Now all I need to do is defeat a new intergalactic enemy every week for the next two and a half months." Sam joked.

* * *

It wasn't quite the dramatic scene of her previous return home, but Sam still monopolised Beth for cuddling for a long while after she got home.

Vala happily announced that her baby was a girl, and that she and Daniel would be naming her Serena, after Vala's mother. Sam hoped her acting was good enough that Vala didn't spot that this wasn't a surprise to her.

Cassie joined them for dinner, and then drove Vala home, leaving Sam, Jack and Beth for a quiet night in alone. It was perfect, and exactly what Sam needed after a busy couple of weeks.

After they put Beth to bed, Sam took Jack's hand and pulled him into their bedroom, before kissing him fiercely.

She pulled her shirt off over her head in one quick, fluid move, and smiled at him seductively. "This might be the only night we get before I have to go back. We'd better make the most of it."

Jack practically growled with lust. "I can't wait till you're home for good."


	47. Trio

**Atlantis Season 4 Episode 16 – Trio**

 _Episode summary: On a mission to convince a colony of people to relocate from a volatile area with frequent seismic disturbances and an unsafe atmosphere, McKay, Keller and Carter fall into an old mining facility. They try many things to try and get out, two of which end in Sam falling from a great height – the second time, she breaks her leg. When a tremor tilts the room, Keller falls out of the door into the abyss, and is saved when she grabs onto a rope that Rodney is holding. She spots an exit tunnel, and Rodney manages to lower her until she can swing into it. His hands are bloody from the friction of the rope. They fashion a seat for Sam and Rodney lowers her too. Then Rodney lowers himself. He gets into the tunnel seconds before the entire building they were in plummets into the abyss._

* * *

The first thing Sam became aware of as she drifted back to consciousness, was a throbbing pain in her leg.

The second thing was McKay bickering.

"Some of us are trying to sleep here, Rodney." She griped hoarsely, opening her eyes in a squint against the bright lights of the infirmary.

"Hey, you're awake." McKay said, peering at her from her bedside.

"How are you feeling?" Sheppard asked from her other side.

"Like I broke my leg." She said with a grimace. "What happened?"

"You passed out while we were pulling you up out of that mine exit tunnel." McKay said. "Then I ran to the gate to call for backup, and Sheppard came to pick us up in a puddle jumper."

"Dr Keller says it was a clean break." Sheppard added. "You've got a shiny new cast, and you'll be on crutches for a few weeks, but you'll be fine."

Sam nodded and gave him a thumbs-up with a tight, pained smile, before closing her eyes again tiredly.

"Rodney, are you and Jennifer ok?" Sam asked after a few moments.

"Yeah, yeah, we're fine." McKay said with a dismissive wave. "Well – my hands are ripped to shreds, and I'm probably not going to be able to move my arms tomorrow when all the pulled muscles really start complaining, but … I'm not dead at the bottom of a mine, so there's that."

"You're surprisingly chipper." Sam commented, squinting at him.

"He thinks Keller's into him." Sheppard said, with blatant scepticism.

Sam raised her eyebrows but didn't comment. McKay and _Keller_? Well, she supposed stranger things had happened.

* * *

The good doctor herself checked on Sam later on. Sam was pleased to see she didn't look any the worse for wear.

"Hey." Sam greeted her.

"How are you doing?" Keller asked.

"I'm great." Sam said with a grin, pointing at her IV. "Morphine drip."

Keller winced, and moved to the IV in question. "Yeah, about that …"

She removed the IV. Sam stared at her.

"You can't have any more of that." Keller said carefully.

"Why?" Sam asked. If she wasn't slightly loopy from the morphine, she might have been embarrassed about how plaintive she sounded.

"We ran a full set of blood and urine tests – as you fell twice onto ancient and rotting wood, I was worried about you having picked up something nasty."

At Sam's alarmed look, Keller held up a conciliatory hand. "You're fine." Keller assured her. "But the tests did turn up something else."

Keller gave her a pointed look, but didn't continue.

Sam raised her eyebrows at the doctor. "What?"

Keller smiled softly. "You're pregnant."

Sam's mouth dropped open. "Seriously?" She breathed.

"Yeah. You didn't know?"

" _No_. I had no idea." Sam looked up at the ceiling, thinking. It must have happened when she went back for her impromptu IOA debriefing five weeks ago.

It suddenly hit her that she'd put her body through a hell of a lot in the last twenty four hours.

"Is it … I mean, with everything that's just happened, is the baby ok?" She asked, a hand drifting to her stomach.

"I'm going to take you for a scan now." Keller said. "But there hasn't been any bleeding, which is a good sign."

Sam nodded, feeling utterly shell-shocked. She laced her fingers over her abdomen, looking down at herself. _Jake's in there._

* * *

Dr Keller confirmed Sam's suspicion about how far along she was, although the official medical way of counting these things meant she was medically considered to be eight weeks pregnant, rather than the five she'd counted since the conception. Her mishaps in the mine didn't seem to have caused any harm.

Sam asked Keller to keep it to herself, at least until she'd had a chance to tell Jack, and the doctor reluctantly agreed. Technically the pregnancy should be reported to General Casey, but Sam didn't want Jack finding out like that. She was less than six weeks away from going home for good. She wanted to tell him in person.

It was weird, she thought as she lay in bed on her first night in her quarters since being released from the infirmary. A year ago she'd been obsessing over her inability to get pregnant, and she'd been actively trying with every chance she got. But since Beth came along, and her posting to Atlantis, she'd barely even thought about it, figuring there was no point until she got home again for good. Maybe the universe had a sense of humour after all, having her fall pregnant just as she stopped trying.

She ran a hand lightly over her belly, thinking of Vala, and the almost six-months-along swell she'd had when Sam had last seen her, and of Teyla, who was showing more every day. Perhaps it was silly, but she felt pleased to be a part of that club, even if it was only privately, for now.


	48. Midway

**Atlantis Season 4 Episode 17 – Midway**

 _Episode summary: Sam invites Teal'c to Atlantis, to coach Ronan for his interview with the new IOA member, Mr Coolidge. Teal'c and Ronan take an instant dislike to one another. While they are on Midway together observing the 24 hour quarantine, the Wraith attack, having managed to hack the DHD of the last planet in the gate-bridge chain before Midway, to gain access. The Wraith successfully gain access to the Milky Way portion of the gate-bridge, and attack the SGC, sending a stunner through first to knock out everyone on the base. Teal'c and Ronan follow, and succeed in killing all the Wraith, bonding in the process. Mr Coolidge (who woke up during this), had called in a nuclear strike against the SGC, but this was successfully called off. Sheppard and McKay had gone to Midway with a strike team to try and take Midway back. However, while McKay is trying to shut down the gate to prevent more Wraith coming through and attacking, Dr Kavanagh accidentally triggers the station's self-destruct. Midway is destroyed, and Sheppard, McKay, Dr Lee and Dr Kavanagh escape in a puddle jumper, which is docked there at all times to be used as an escape pod. At the end of the episode, the Daedalus pick up the puddle jumper on their way back to Atlantis._

* * *

 _[DURING THE EPISODE – after Teal'c arrives in Atlantis …]_

Sam looked up from the chessboard, to find Teal'c studying her with an odd expression on his face. "Teal'c? Everything alright?" She asked.

They were on the balcony outside Sam's quarters, in the late evening. Sam had set up the board there so that they'd have a view of the city as they played.

"You appear … different." Teal'c said.

Sam bit her lip. She was eleven weeks pregnant. She wasn't showing yet, but Teal'c was one of her oldest friends – it wasn't surprising that he'd pick up on the subtle differences.

She was just under two weeks from the end of her assignment to Atlantis, and had been holding off on telling anyone – besides Dr Keller – until she got back to Earth and could tell Jack in person.

"So do you." Sam said, trying to divert the conversation so she wouldn't have to make the decision of whether to come clean or lie. "The hair really suits you."

He just narrowed his eyes.

 _Damn. Should have known it wouldn't be that easy._

She looked back at the board and moved her knight. "Your move." She said.

"If I didn't know better …" He trailed off, looking thoughtful.

She sighed, and leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms. "If you didn't know better … _what_?"

His eyes flickered down to her belly. Her flat, jacket-covered belly.

"It has been eight weeks since your last visit to Earth." He said.

She raised her eyebrows, waiting for him to continue. He obviously suspected, but she wasn't going to help him along. She'd had a _plan,_ damn it!

"Samantha." He said, in that soft, gentle tone that never failed to melt her resolve. "Are you pregnant?"

Sam closed her eyes briefly and then squinted at him with a rueful smile. "You are _way_ too good at reading me." She complained.

He beamed at her. "I have had much practice."

"Sixty-odd years of practice." Sam agreed, with an exasperated sigh. "It's hardly fair."

"I assume you are waiting to tell O'Neill when you return to Earth in two weeks' time?"

"That's the plan." Sam nodded. "I wanted to do it in person. The only people who know so far are Dr Keller, and now you."

"I will keep it to myself." Teal'c said, with a bow of his head.

"Thank you." She said sincerely, and then chuckled. "I must admit, it feels great to actually tell someone. I've known for the last three weeks."

"Were you not injured three weeks ago?" Teal'c asked, frowning.

"Yeah, I broke my leg - that's when I found out about the pregnancy." Sam nodded. "I've only been out of the cast a couple of days. My leg is pretty much healed, but I still need to treat it gently."

"And the baby was unharmed?"

"He's absolutely fine." Sam said, patting her belly.

Teal'c smiled. "I will look forward to meeting young Jake O'Neill when the time comes." He said.

Sam chuckled. If felt _really_ weird to hear someone other than herself or Jack just casually use Jake's name. Her knowledge of her future and her children had been her greatest secret for such a long time.

"Of course, if it turns out to be a girl, we're going to be completely blindsided." Sam said.

"Has not everything else happened exactly as you saw it in 2034?"

Sam shrugged. "It's not like there haven't been hiccups." Sam said. "For one, we had no idea that Beth would be born to my clone, rather than me. And then there's the version of me who spent fifty years on the Odyssey with you. Things didn't exactly go according to plan for _her_." She said, gesturing at him.

Something deeply sad flickered in Teal'c's expression for a moment, so fast that Sam wondered if she'd seen it at all.

"I am confident that _you_ are on the right path." Teal'c said.

Sam smiled at him. "I hope so."

* * *

 _[AFTER THE DESTRUCTION OF MIDWAY …]_

Major Lorne exited the wormhole ahead of his team, and shook his head at Sam. She closed her eyes for a moment and sighed.

"It's just spitting us out on the last planet in the chain." Lorne said, approaching her. "And there's no sign at all of Colonel Sheppard and his team."

Sam shook her head. "Something must have happened at Midway to prevent us from connecting to the gate."

"Well, it's not the same thing as last time." Lorne said. "There was zero sign of Wraith activity on the planet. Or any other activity, for that matter. It was completely barren and deserted."

Sam nodded. "Ok. Thank you Major."

He led his team off to return their gear, leaving Sam to stand there, gazing at the gate.

If it wasn't something on the last planet in the chain that was preventing them reaching Midway, that meant the problem lay with the Midway gate itself. It had been taken offline somehow, and without a ship available in Pegasus to check it out, they had no way of knowing what had happened.

Which meant, for all she knew, Earth may be under attack from the Wraith right now, and she may have just sent some of her best people to their deaths.

* * *

It took much longer than Teal'c would have liked for Ronan and himself to finish explaining what had happened, to General Landry and the members of the IOA who had been within the SGC.

Once the base personnel had awoken from being stunned, Teal'c was certain that it was the training and professionalism of the many Air Force officers on base that had prevented chaos from erupting in the base at large, but the de-briefing had unfortunately been lacking in military officers, save for General Landry himself. Chaos had reigned.

Finally however, the IOA members seemed to have got the chain of events ordered in their individual minds, and it was agreed that Teal'c and Ronan could retire for some rest.

The Daedalus would depart in two days, to determine what had become of the Midway station. Discussions were still ongoing regarding whether to use the ZPM currently stored at the outpost in Antarctica, to dial Atlantis direct. Teal'c suspected that if they waited long enough, Colonel Carter would use her own ZPM to dial Earth direct from Atlantis, to discover what had happened for herself.

He worried for her. She was carrying a child in secret, and had been less than two weeks from being able to return home via Midway. It would seem that option was lost to her, now.

In fact, he realised, even if she boarded the Daedalus directly upon its arrival in the Pegasus Galaxy and it returned immediately to Earth, it would be over six weeks from now before she would arrive back here. And there was certainly no guarantee that events would unfold that smoothly.

"Teal'c!" As though summoned by Teal'c's thoughts of Samantha, her husband appeared, jogging towards him.

"O'Neill." He greeted.

"What the hell happened?" O'Neill demanded. "They're saying we had a foothold situation and that we can't connect to Midway!"

"That is correct." Teal'c said. "Come, I will explain everything."

"Teal'c …" O'Neill appeared greatly distressed. "Carter …?"

"As far as I am aware, the attack did not originate in Atlantis." Teal'c assured him. "I have no reason to suspect that any harm has befallen her."

"But if they got to Earth from Midway, they could have got to Atlantis from there too."

"I do not believe that was their intention." Teal'c said. "The target was Earth."

O'Neill sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face.

"Come." Teal'c said again, and led him away to explain all in more detail.

* * *

After twenty-four hours, Sam couldn't stand it any longer. It would cost them dearly in terms of ZPM power, but she had to try and find out what happened.

She had Chuck dial Earth.

She didn't realise she'd been holding her breath until the wormhole successfully connected, and she let out a deep breath of relief.

"Stargate Command, this is Atlantis, please respond."

Her heart was in her mouth as she waited.

"Atlantis, this is Stargate Command, please stand by for General Landry." Walter Harriman's voice crackled over the radio.

"Oh thank God." She breathed, and bowed her head, leaning on the console. She exchanged a rueful grin with Chuck. It had been a tense day of waiting, and wondering.

"Colonel." Landry's voice came over the radio. "It's good to hear from you."

"Likewise, sir. We had intelligence that you might have been attacked by the Wraith."

"Yeah, they gave it a pretty good shot." Landry said, sounding tired. "Luckily Teal'c and Ronan followed hot on their heels, and managed to save the whole damn base by themselves."

Teal'c was ok. And Ronan. That was some very welcome news.

"Have you heard from Midway, sir, or from Colonel Sheppard's team at all?"

"We can't establish a connection to Midway. And no, I'm afraid we haven't heard from Colonel Sheppard. What's the situation there?"

"The Wraith discovered the intergalactic bridge and attacked the Midway station." Sam explained. "Colonel Sheppard led a strike force to attempt to retake it. However, since his team left, we've been unable to establish a wormhole to Midway ourselves. I don't know what happened to Midway, or Colonel Sheppard's team, but if you can't connect either …"

"It suggests that the Midway station itself may have been destroyed." Landry finished for her. "It does have a self-destruct mechanism. The Wraith may have inadvertently triggered it."

"Or our people on Midway may have triggered the self-destruct to prevent it from remaining in the hands of the Wraith." Sam suggested. "Sir, Midway does have a jumper … if Colonel Sheppard's team was still on Midway when it blew, they may have been able to evacuate."

"We're already prepping the Daedalus to make a trip in your direction. They'll stop by Midway along the way. If there's a jumper there, they can recover any survivors."

Sam let out a deep breath. It was a thin hope, but it was better than nothing.

"General, I'd like to request that the Apollo head back to Pegasus as well. If the Daedalus will be returning to the job of making round trips between galaxies, we could really use another ship stationed here in case they're needed."

"I'll pass along your request to General Casey." Landry said. "Colonel, I know you were hoping to come home in a couple of weeks, but without Midway, I'm afraid you're going to have to sit tight a while longer."

Sam winced. "I realise that sir."

"To be honest, the IOA haven't finished bickering over who's going to replace you. I expect they'll be glad of the extra time to sort it out."

Frankly, she didn't give a rat's ass whether the IOA wanted more time or not. She wanted to come home, and she knew that when she eventually got around to dwelling upon the reality of their new situation, it was going to be painful.

"General, we only have the one ZPM here, and I know you'll be wanting to save yours as well. Are we returning to the method of sending messages via Daedalus, or would you like to schedule a date for another gate connection?"

There was a moment of silence, as Landry considered on the other end. "Let's leave it for now. We'll send new orders with Daedalus on that subject."

"Yes sir."

Sam frowned, wanting to ask more questions, but conscious of every second eating more of the ZPM's power.

Landry had obviously reached a similar conclusion. "If there's nothing else pressing, Colonel, I'll let you sign off."

"There's nothing else sir." She said. _Nothing that can't wait for the Daedalus, anyway._ "Carter out."

She nodded to Chuck, and the wormhole disengaged.

Three weeks until the Daedalus arrived. She'd probably have the beginnings of a baby bump by then.

 _Crap._

* * *

Teal'c knocked on O'Neill's front door. The General opened it with Beth in his arms.

"Teal'c. This is a surprise."

"I am sorry to disturb you, O'Neill, but there is something I must discuss with you."

O'Neill shifted the one-year-old girl in his grip, and opened the door wider in invitation.

Teal'c inclined his head in thanks, and entered the house. He took himself to the living room, the floor of which was scattered with Beth's brightly coloured toys, and took a seat on the couch.

O'Neill set the baby back on the play-mat, and sat down opposite in the armchair.

"Well?" O'Neill prompted.

Teal'c watched the little girl, troubled. He was in two minds about his purpose here. He had vowed to Colonel Carter that he would hold his tongue in regards to her condition, in order that she could tell O'Neill in person when she returned to Earth at the end of her assignment in less than two weeks.

However, it would now in all likelihood be close to two months before she could return, or even send a message to O'Neill. By that time, her pregnancy would have advanced to the point that others would know of it. And he suspected, or at least hoped, that if she was able, she would approve of Teal'c breaking his silence in the circumstances in which they now found themselves.

"There is something I must tell you." He started. "As her return to Earth was imminent, Colonel Carter had intended to tell you this herself, in person. However, as it will now be much longer before she can speak with you again, I feel she would want me to tell you in her stead."

"Tell me what?" He sounded nervous.

Teal'c held his gaze, communicating the gravity of his news. "She is with child."

Shock registered prominently in O'Neill's expression. "She's _pregnant_?"

"Indeed."

O'Neill covered his face with his hands, and was silent for a few moments.

"How far along is she?" He asked eventually.

"She said that the child was conceived during her short visit with you after defeating the Replicators." Teal'c said. "I believe that was a little more than eight weeks ago."

O'Neill shook his head in disbelief and sat back in his chair.

"I'm assuming she hasn't reported it yet?" He asked.

"No. She wanted to tell you herself, first."

"Who else knows?"

"Only myself, and Dr Keller." Teal'c canted his head, considering his words. "You should know, that she did not intend to tell me. She had wanted you to be the first to know."

"Why did she then?" O'Neill asked gruffly.

"I guessed the truth." He explained. "I am familiar with the signs of a woman in early pregnancy, and I have known Colonel Carter for many years. It was not difficult to reach the correct conclusion."

"She's not _showing_ yet though, is she?"

"She is not. But there are other indicators."

O'Neill looked distinctly uncomfortable. Teal'c decided it would be best not to speak further on the subject.

"If Casey doesn't know, he's not going to order her to come back with the Daedalus." O'Neill said after a moment. "And knowing her, she won't come unless she's ordered."

"Do you intend to tell General Casey yourself?"

He sighed. "I don't know. I probably should. But … officially, Sam or Dr Keller should have reported it. If it comes from me, I'll get them both in trouble for not reporting it themselves."

"Under the circumstances, I believe Colonel Carter will now report it through the appropriate channels herself."

"Yeah, she'll probably assume that you'll have told me. But without Midway, reporting it through 'appropriate channels' now means sending word back with the Daedalus on its return trip. That means at least six weeks before Casey gets wind of it." O'Neill sat forward again, looking at Teal'c seriously. "Buddy, I need to ask a favour."

Teal'c raised an eyebrow in inquiry.

"I need you to be on the Daedalus when it leaves. My wife is pregnant and alone in another galaxy. I need someone I trust there watching her back as soon as humanly possible."

Teal'c bowed his head. "I will return to the SGC immediately to request permission to do so."

"Thank you." O'Neill sighed, and reached forward to stroke his daughter's soft blonde hair. "And when you get there, make sure she's reporting the pregnancy to Casey and requesting a transfer home?"

"I will."

* * *

It seemed like it had been the longest three weeks of Sam's life.

She spent a good deal of time with Teyla, who was understandably worried for all three of her team mates. The two of them became quite good friends, and she became the first person that Sam intentionally told about her pregnancy. Teyla, who of course was in the advanced stages of pregnancy herself, was thrilled for her.

Meanwhile, life in the city went on. An outbreak of a new plague on several different worlds kept Sam's life busy, co-ordinating the various off-world teams and the efforts of Dr Keller's team. And, they kept one eye on the sky at all times, half expecting Todd or his ilk to make an appearance, wanting retribution for their failed attack on Earth.

Finally, _finally_ , they got a subspace transmission from Colonel Caldwell on the Daedalus, who had just re-entered the galaxy and gotten within communications range.

"I won't beat around the bush, Sam. We have successfully recovered Colonel Sheppard, Dr McKay, Dr Lee, and Dr Kavanagh." Steven Caldwell told her. "I'm afraid the rest of Sheppard's strike force were lost, and Midway has been destroyed. I have Ronan and Teal'c on board as well."

"Teal'c's with you?" Sam asked, surprised.

"He is. We'll be with you in approximately four days."

"We'll keep the lights on for you." Sam said, smiling. "Will you be returning immediately to Earth after you arrive?"

"We'll take a couple days to re-stock, and so we can exchange information, but yeah, after that we'll need to head back."

Sam nodded. "Have the SGC sent any orders about scheduling a direct dial between Atlantis and Earth?"

"They said that unless you have something pressing to talk to them about, we'd stick with the Daedalus back and forth for now."

Sam winced. "Sorry Colonel." She said sympathetically. "I know that's not good news for you."

"I was just starting to enjoy not being a glorified bus driver anymore." Steven griped. "But … _c'est la vie_ , and all that. By the way, Sheppard wants to know if Teyla's doing alright?"

Sam smiled at Teyla, who was in fact standing right beside her. "You wanna answer that?"

"I am well, Colonel Caldwell." Teyla spoke into the microphone. "Please tell Colonel Sheppard that I am looking forward to your arrival."

"Will do." Caldwell replied. "I'll sign off for now, Sam, unless you've got anything else?"

"Actually there is just one more thing." Sam said. "I don't suppose you brought with you a new leader for Atlantis?"

"Colonel?" He sounded confused.

"My tenure here was supposed to end a week ago." She explained. "I knew it was a long shot, but I was hoping they might have sent my replacement along with you."

"Sorry Sam, I don't know anything about that." Caldwell replied. "I guess maybe they want you to stay in place a bit longer?"

Sam sighed. They probably did. Bastards.

"OK, well, that's all I've got." Sam said.

"Alright. I'll call back when we have a more precise ETA. Daedalus out."

Sam looked at Teyla, who was grinning. Sheppard and McKay were alive. That, at least, was very good news.

* * *

Sheppard, McKay, Ronan, Teal'c, and Caldwell all transported down to the Atlantis gate-room together, upon Daedalus' arrival in orbit.

Teyla went straight to greet her team mates, while Teal'c and Caldwell headed for Sam.

"Welcome back." She greeted them both wryly.

"I wish the circumstances weren't quite so cumbersome." Steven replied. "Lee and Kavanagh have opted to stay up on Daedalus. They'll make the return trip with us."

Sam nodded, and looked at Teal'c. He gave her a little head-bow. "It is good to see you again, Colonel Carter."

"I hear you and Ronan single-handedly saved the SGC from a Wraith attack." She said, raising her voice a little to encompass Ronan as well.

Sheppard patted Ronan on the back. "Our boys did good, didn't they Colonel?" He said to her jovially.

Sam smirked and looked sheepishly at Teal'c. He had over a hundred years on her in age. Still, he didn't seem to mind being referred to as 'her boy'.

"May I discuss a matter with you privately, Colonel Carter?" Teal'c asked.

 _Ah. Here we go._

"Uh, sure … assuming you don't need me for anything, Colonel?" She looked to Caldwell.

"Not right this minute, no. I'll go start organising the re-supply."

"Ok. My office?" She asked Teal'c, and he nodded.

She led him up to the office, and closed the door.

His gaze dropped to her mid-section. She was showing a little bit, now. Not enough to be obvious to someone who didn't know it was there, but … enough that it would be glaringly clear to Teal'c.

"I must confess something to you, Samantha." He said, sounding contrite.

"You told Jack." She guessed.

"I did."

"It's ok, under the circumstances I was hoping you would have." She said. "If you hadn't, he would have ended up finding out from General Casey when the Daedalus gets back there in three weeks. And that's a best case scenario."

Teal'c inclined his head, clearly glad that Sam felt that way.

"How did he take it?" She asked.

"He was surprised, and concerned for your welfare. It was he who requested that I return to Atlantis with the Daedalus."

"Why is that exactly?" She asked.

He raised an eyebrow and said nothing.

She huffed. "Please tell me it's not so you can play 'bodyguard' or something equally ridiculous?"

"He wished to have someone he trusted in your presence, to 'watch your back', as he put it."

"Of course he did." Sam muttered, disgruntled. "For crying out loud, I'm pregnant, not an invalid."

"He also wished me to make sure that you were reporting your condition to Casey through the proper channels, and officially requesting a transfer back to Earth."

Sam fumed. "Obviously I am. Seriously, what does he take me for?"

Teal'c just gave her the eyebrow again. She gave a frustrated sigh and sat down.

"I do not believe he intended it as a slight on your capabilities or judgement, Samantha." Teal'c said gently after a long moment. "He is simply concerned for your welfare, and is feeling your absence keenly. Especially in light of your condition."

Sam felt a stab of pain in her psyche. _God_ , but she missed him too. Not to mention her daughter.

Teal'c crouched down beside her, and she looked at him through the sheen of tears in her eyes.

"What is your plan?" He asked.

She took a deep breath to clear her head. "I've already written a report and a transfer request, and Dr Keller has prepared her report as well. It's all together and marked 'urgent' for General Casey's attention, and it will go back with the Daedalus. Then, it's just a matter of waiting for my orders."

"If you have to wait until the Daedalus returns again, your pregnancy will be quite advanced by the time you reach Earth." Teal'c commented with concern.

"I'll probably be around the twenty-five week mark." Sam agreed. "It's not ideal, but there's not a great deal we can do about it, unless we use the ZPM to dial direct, and I won't do that if it's only for my own sake."

"Will you consider returning with the Daedalus now?"

"I can't, Teal'c. Atlantis needs a leader, and for the moment, I'm it. I can't abandon them. And that's before we get into the fact that officially I have to wait for transfer orders."

Teal'c looked down with reluctant acceptance. "Then I will but hold out hope that there will be cause and opportunity for you to return directly by stargate."

Sam gave him a strained smile. "Me too."

* * *

In the end, Sam convinced Teal'c to go back with the Daedalus. She didn't need or want an overprotective shadow, and he would have very little to do in Atlantis if he stayed. She charged him instead with delivering her transfer request directly to General Casey, and impressing upon the General the depth of her desire to return home as soon as possible.

She also told Steven Caldwell about her pregnancy. His reaction for some reason reminded her forcefully of her father. He elicited a promise from her that she'd take it easy and try to stay out of trouble.

On the night that the Daedalus disappeared from sensor range on its way back to Earth, she watched it go on a monitor in the control room, a hand resting unconsciously over her subtly rounded abdomen, wishing she was going with them.

* * *

Now that she was going to be here a while longer, Sam knew it was time to come clean to the rest of Sheppard's team. It wouldn't be too long before they realised that the bulge in her mid-section wasn't due to an over-indulgence at mealtimes.

Having learnt her lesson the last time, Sam started with Rodney.

One evening, after the team had returned from assisting a world hit by the mysterious new disease they were tracking, she paid a visit to McKay's lab.

She settled on a stool on the other side of his workbench.

"Do you need something?" McKay asked, barely glancing up from his laptop.

"Can I talk to you, for a minute?"

He looked a little startled by her tone, recognising that this wasn't Colonel Carter the boss, but Sam the quasi-friend.

"Uh, sure." He said, closing his laptop lid. "What's up?"

"I have to tell you something." She squirmed a little. "Remember when I first got here, and it took me two months to tell you that I was married and had a daughter?"

His face pulled into a disgruntled expression at the memory. "Vividly, yes."

"Well, this is me trying to avoid making the same mistake twice." She said.

He looked confused. "Sorry, not following."

She gave him a strained smile. "I'm pregnant."

The startled look on his face was adorable. "Oh?" He squeaked, and then coughed and repeated it several octaves lower. "I mean, oh? Really, that's uh … well, congratulations, I suppose."

"You suppose?" Sam said with a raised eyebrow.

"No, I mean, obviously … congratulations. Very happy for you."

She smiled at him. "Thanks Rodney."

"I assume it's um … you know, _his_?"

Sam reminded herself that this was Rodney, and he didn't mean offence, he was just not very good at this. "Yes, Rodney, it's Jack's."

He suddenly seemed to realise what a predicament this put her in, with the loss of Midway, and he gave her a look of genuine sympathy.

"You're going to be stuck here for a while, aren't you?"

She nodded, chewing her lip.

"I'm sorry. I mean, I wish there was something I could do to help you get home …"

She reached across the workbench and squeezed his hand. "Thanks. It's alright though, even if I have to wait to go back with the Daedalus on their next trip, I'll still be home well before my due date."

He gave her a little smile, which she returned. She suddenly realised she was going to miss him, when she went home.

If she'd told herself _that_ five years ago, her past self would have thought she'd lost her mind. Maybe she'd have to remember that for when she was the General Carter she'd met in the future. Along with the cryptic warnings and advice, she could tell her younger self that 'one day, you will miss Rodney McKay'. It boggled the mind, really.

* * *

Next were Sheppard and Ronan. It was evening, but before midnight, so chances were they'd both be in the Rec Room. Sam headed off in that direction.

She was close to the Rec Room, only a couple of corners away, when she abruptly started feeling dizzy, and couldn't catch her breath. She faltered in her walk, trying to clear her head, but then the world pitched and yawed and span, and the ground rushed up to meet her.

* * *

Sam was alone when she came to. It wasn't that surprising – it was night, and this was not a frequently used corridor. She blinked at her watch, trying to focus. She couldn't have been out for more than a few minutes.

She got to her hands and knees, and tried to stand, but the dizziness hit her again, and she ended up on her backside, clutching at the ground.

 _Crap._

She toggled her radio. "Sheppard, this is Carter, come in?"

"Sheppard here, go ahead?"

"Are you in the Rec Room?" She asked.

"Yeah, why?"

 _Thank God. He's close._

"Can you head to the corridor that's lined with windows overlooking the West Pier, the one you'd take if you were heading from the Rec Room to McKay's lab?"

"Sure … why, what's going on?"

"I need your help." She said, ambiguously.

"Ok, just a minute."

It was actually less than a minute later that Sheppard and Ronan appeared around the corner ahead, at a jog. They sped up when the spotted her on the floor. She'd shifted so that her back was against the wall, but the fact that she was down there at all was doubtless a give-away that something was amiss.

"Sam, what's wrong?" Sheppard asked as he reached her, and crouched at her side.

"I need you to take me to the infirmary." She said breathlessly. "I'm dizzy, I can't get up."

"I'll call a med team …" Sheppard said, reaching for his radio, but she stopped him with a hand.

"No, it's ok, just help me up and walk me down there, please?"

He didn't look happy about it, but he nodded, and ordered Ronan to her other side with a cant of his head. The two of them took hold of her arms and practically hauled her off the floor.

Her vision swam a little as she regained her feet, but by leaning on the guys she got it under control.

"Alright?" Ronan asked.

She nodded. "Yeah, I'm good."

"Let's take it slow." Sheppard said. "Any idea what's causing this?"

She gave a hollow laugh. This wasn't exactly how she'd been planning on telling them.

"Well, I'm pregnant, so I'd be surprised if it's not somehow related to that."

Sheppard stared at her. "You're kidding?" He looked at Ronan over her head. "Everyone's getting pregnant round here, seriously, is there something in the water?"

Sam wasn't sure that she and Teyla really constituted 'everyone', but she was too busy focussing on putting one foot after the other to argue the point.

"Congratulations." Ronan said, squeezing her arm where he held it. He was smiling warmly at her when she looked up at him.

"Thanks."

"How far along are you?" Sheppard asked.

"Sixteen weeks, thereabouts."

"That's what, almost four months?"

"Yes."

"Why are you still here?" Sheppard asked. "You could have gone back with the Daedalus."

"When we lost Midway, I became effectively stuck here in place as expedition leader until such time as General Casey orders me back. I did send an official request for a transfer back with the Daedalus though, along with Dr Keller's report on my condition."

"It's ok, we'll look out for you until you can go home." Ronan said reassuringly. "Teyla hasn't had any problems with managing her pregnancy in the city."

"At least the infirmary have some experience in that area." Sheppard added.

They got into a transporter. Sam let go of the guys' arms experimentally. She was feeling quite a bit steadier now.

When the doors opened, she walked forward unaided, although she felt Sheppard's hand alight on the small of her back, obviously prepared in case she should collapse again.

"It's alright, I'm feeling much better now." She said.

"Well, forgive me but I'm not going to relax until you're sitting on an infirmary bed with Dr Keller telling us you're fine." Sheppard said.

Sam smiled.

Of course, it was effectively night time, so Dr Keller wasn't on shift. She was, however, the only doctor on staff who knew about Sam's pregnancy, so Sam reluctantly asked the doctor on shift to call her in.

She was sitting on the edge of a bed, kicking her heels against its side, when Dr Keller rushed in, in the middle of tying her long hair back into a ponytail.

"Colonel? What's going on?" Keller asked.

"She got dizzy and passed out." Sheppard told her.

"I'm feeling ok now though." Sam added.

"Any other symptoms?" Keller asked.

All three of them looked at her expectantly. She sighed. "I was just walking towards the Rec Room, when I suddenly felt short of breath and very dizzy, and I blacked out. I can't have been unconscious for more than a couple of minutes. When I came round I was still very dizzy, but that faded on the walk down here."

Keller frowned. "I'm going to check your blood pressure, and we'll run some tests and get you under the scanner to be on the safe side."

Sam winced. "Look, it's probably nothing. I expect I just didn't drink enough fluids today or something."

" _Have_ you been drinking enough fluids?" Keller asked pointedly.

Sam looked chagrined. "I think so."

Keller nodded. "We're doing this my way, Colonel. Now, take off your jacket please."

Sam sighed. It looked like she'd be here for a while.

* * *

"Well?" Sheppard asked, as Sam and Dr Keller walked back into the infirmary-proper from the scanner room.

"It looks like it's just low blood pressure." Keller answered. "Everything else is fine."

"So the baby's ok?" Ronan asked.

Keller looked at Sam in surprise.

"I told them on the way down here. Ironically I was actually on my way to tell them about it when I blacked out." Sam looked at Sheppard. "McKay and Teyla know too, but that's it, in terms of Atlantis personnel."

Keller nodded. "Well, the baby is just fine. Low blood pressure in pregnancy isn't uncommon. We'll keep an eye on it, to make sure it doesn't dip too low. In the meantime, you just need to make sure you're drinking lots of fluids, eating a balanced diet, and taking it easy."

Sam winced. "Historically I don't have a good track record of 'taking it easy'." She admitted.

"Well, that's about to change." Sheppard said firmly. "In the morning you and I can have a conversation about _delegating_."

Sam nodded resignedly. In another situation she might have been indignant at the suggestion that she needed the help. But, as she had just blacked out, alone, putting her baby at risk … maybe she'd let Sheppard take some stuff off of her plate.


	49. Search and Rescue

**Atlantis Season 5 Episode 1 – Search and Rescue**

 _Episode summary: While searching for Teyla, a building implodes, trapping McKay, Lorne, Sheppard and Ronan under the rubble. Sam leads a search and rescue team. They recover McKay and Lorne who were close to the surface, but Ronan and Sheppard are further down – Sheppard gravely injured. When Michael arrives in orbit, they have to withdraw to the jumpers. The Daedalus arrives, and transports Sheppard and Ronan aboard just in time to evade Michael's forces digging for them. Sam's jumpers board at the same time. Sheppard – still injured, but stubbornly persevering – leads his team aboard the Wraith ship in an attempt to rescue Teyla. They succeed in finding her, and McKay delivers her baby, before Kanaan – the baby's father – helps them escape. The Daedalus destroys Michael's hive ship. Teyla names her son Torren John Emmagen. At the end of the episode, Sam is recalled to Earth for an 'exhaustive' review of her first year in command, and is surprised to be informed that she is being removed from command and replaced with Woolsey._

 _Author's note: You'll notice I've futzed with the canon timeline a bit here, as for the purpose of my timeline I'm saying Sam was commander of Atlantis for a total of eight months, not a year. Sorry. My only excuse was that I didn't want to miss out on the Atlantis story points, but couldn't justify Sam actually being gone for a year in my altered timeline. Just stick your fingers in your ears and whistle if it bothers you – that's my tactic for dealing with annoying continuity errors. Also, in my timeline Sam's obviously not going to be surprised to be removed from command, as it's what she's requested. P.S. Please read the author's note at the bottom of this page._

* * *

Sam had been in her office with Steven Caldwell when she got the call that Sheppard had woken up after his surgery. The two of them headed down there to visit.

In the infirmary, Teyla and Sheppard were in adjacent beds, Teyla sitting up with little Torren cradled in her arms, and Sheppard leaning back against the tilted incline at the head of his bed.

"How are you feeling?" Sam asked John as she and Steven approached.

"Well, all my insides are back where they're supposed to be, so much better, all things considered." John said wryly. "Plus my bed neighbour has a pretty cute distraction over there."

Teyla grinned, as all attention was drawn to the bundle in her arms.

"Sam." John said, calling her attention back to him. She looked at him expectantly. "You should sit." He said, nodding at the chair between the beds.

She rolled her eyes at him. "I'm fine."

Sam was now 21 weeks pregnant, and she now had an unmistakeable baby bump protruding from her open jacket.

Steven put his hands on her shoulders and firmly but gently propelled her towards the chair. "Sit." He said, in a tone that brokered no argument. She huffed but did as she was told.

She had some pretty warm feelings towards Steven Caldwell at the moment. With his return to the Pegasus galaxy, he not only rendered assistance with saving both of the people on either side of her in the infirmary beds, but he had also brought with him Sam's long awaited transfer orders. She was going home. Sure, it would be a three week schlep back on the Daedalus, but every day would be one day closer to Jack and Beth and home.

She hadn't seen her daughter in five months. Steven had brought back with him letters and videos of home – Beth was just learning to walk, and had said her first word. Dada.

Sam realised that she'd been staring at the baby with a sad expression as she thought of Beth, and that Teyla was looking at her with concern.

"Would you like to hold him?" Teyla asked, when Sam looked up and met her eyes.

"Oh, no, that's alright, I'm sure he's comfy where he is." Sam said with a smile.

"Please, I insist." Teyla said, and she lifted the baby a little with a pointed look at Caldwell, the only one still on his feet.

Steven stepped forward and lifted Torren from his mother's arms with practiced ease, and laid him in Sam's waiting arms. He was so much smaller than Beth had been, when Sam had first held her.

"He's gorgeous." Sam said, stroking his tiny arm with the back of a finger.

Teyla smiled proudly.

"I trust you will send us pictures of your little one when he is born?" Teyla said.

Sam grinned at her. "Of course."

"So you're going home, huh?" John said. "You must be pretty excited."

"I can't wait." Sam agreed. "Not that I haven't loved it here, and I'm going to miss you all a great deal, but … I've already been here two months longer than I was supposed to be. I just want to get home to my little girl."

She looked down at the little scrunched up face of the newborn in her arms, and her vision suddenly swam with tears. "Steven, would you …?" She lifted the baby a little and he stepped forward to take the baby and pass him back to Teyla.

Her arms free, Sam pulled a tissue from her pocket and wiped at her eyes just as the first trickle escaped.

"Are you going back with the Daedalus?" John asked.

Sam nodded. John looked at Steven, and the two of them exchanged a meaningful look that Sam couldn't interpret.

"What?" She asked.

"We think you should go by stargate." Steven told her. "Just dial direct with the ZPM."

Sam shook her head. "I'm not wasting valuable ZPM power just for my own convenience."

"It wouldn't be just for your sake though." John argued. "In the last couple of weeks we've got hold of a hell of a lot of intel that Earth should have as soon as possible. We've just defeated Michael, rescued Teyla, got hold of all of Michael's research and plans, and intel on all of his activities and resources, _and_ we now know the source of the Hoffan virus and have enough information to stop it. And that's before we get into all that I learned on my brief jaunt 48,000 years into the future. I think we can more than make a case for a direct dial."

"None of that intel is particularly time sensitive though." Sam argued. "It won't hurt them or us if they don't hear it for another three weeks."

"Personally, I think the IOA would rather hear it sooner than later." Steven said. "John's right, it is a _lot_ of information. If you go back with it now, they'll have the three weeks that it'll take me to follow in the Daedalus to come up with whatever response they want to give."

"I would also argue that your health is no small concern." Teyla added. "The Daedalus is a fine ship, but if you were to have any complications in your pregnancy along the way, they may not be equipped to handle it."

Sam looked at Steven. He nodded. "She's right Sam. Our infirmary's good, but it's not a maternity ward. If anything were to happen …" He trailed off and shrugged uncomfortably.

Sam sighed, and closed her eyes briefly. "I feel like I should argue, but the truth is I really don't want to."

"Good." John said with a smile. "Then it's settled."

Sam shook her head. "Alright. But if I'm doing this, I need _everything_ prepared and ready to be transmitted. That includes your mission reports." She said to all three of them.

"I'll get Keller to bring us a couple of laptops." John said.

Sam nodded, and stood. "I'll go ask Rodney to have his report ready."

"Sam." John said, and Sam turned back to him. He held out his hand, and she gave him a bemused frown but obediently gave him hers. "We're going to miss you like crazy. But I'm glad you're going home." He said sincerely, squeezing her fingers.

 _I will not cry. I will not cry._

"Thanks John." She said.

* * *

Two days later, everything was compiled and ready to be transmitted to the SGC in a high-density compressed data burst, in the manner in which they had sent information and files before, back when they had had regular scheduled contact via Midway.

Sam's belongings were packed into a large wheeled suitcase, and she stood with it down by the gate to say her goodbyes. She'd said goodbye to Teyla and John already back in the infirmary, and now she gave Rodney a hug.

"I'm going to miss you." She admitted to him.

"Really?"

"Don't let it go to your head."

He chuckled. "I'm going to miss you too Sam. It's been fun."

"It has." She agreed, stepping back with a smile. "Take care of yourself."

"You too."

Ronan was next. He wrapped her in a bear hug. "Take care of that baby." He said gruffly.

"Take care of McKay." She quipped back. Rodney snorted indignantly as Ronan chuckled, the sound vibrating into her through his chest.

He stepped back and smiled, and she nodded her head to him in goodbye.

Steven hugged her next. "I'll stop by when the Daedalus gets back." He told her.

"I'll see you then. And thank you, for everything." She said.

"You bet."

Sam stepped back from them all, and took a deep breath, before nodding to Chuck up in the control room.

"Dial Earth, Chuck."

The stargate dialled, and before she knew it, there was an open wormhole to the SGC. She toggled her radio.

"Stargate Command, this is Atlantis, please respond."

"Atlantis, this is General Landry. It's good to hear from you, Colonel."

"You too sir. We're transmitting a data burst to you now," she waved a signal to Chuck, and he gave her a thumbs-up to indicate it was done, "and I'm requesting permission to …" she broke off as her voice started to waver, taking a deep breath, "to come home." She finished.

Steven squeezed her shoulder and smiled at her, and she smiled ruefully back.

"You're cleared to proceed through the gate Colonel." Landry said. "Whenever you're ready."

She took a deep breath, and looked at the three of them one last time.

"Go on, before the gate shuts down." McKay said, his tone impatient, but softened by the look in his eyes.

She nodded, and had a last glance around the beautiful Atlantis atrium. "Goodbye." She said, both to her friends and the city.

They all smiled at her, and Sam turned her back, pulling her suitcase with her as she stepped into the gate.

A disorienting moment later, she stepped out of the wormhole into the SGC gate-room, the suitcase dragging to a stop as its wheels got caught on the mesh of the ramp.

She grinned at General Landry.

"Welcome home Colonel." He said. His eyes drifted to her pregnant belly. "That's new." He said.

"Not really." She said with a smile, and walked down the ramp, leaving her suitcase where it had stuck.

"You got the data burst we sent?" She asked.

"We're de-compressing it as we speak." Landry said. "I've also paged SG-1 to the briefing room, and Walter's calling General O'Neill at home. In the meantime, let's go have a little de-briefing."

He issued some orders to have her suitcase taken up to the women's locker room, and Sam followed him up to the briefing room.

She'd barely got through the first sentence of explaining what had happened, when her boys thundered up the stairs into the briefing room.

"Sam!" Daniel yelped, and was across the room in seconds and pulling her into a tight hug.

She couldn't help it. The relief of being home and seeing them all after so, _so_ long, was compounded by the pregnancy hormones that made her emotions much more volatile than they would be usually. She burst into tears.

Daniel didn't let her go until Teal'c made him, tired of waiting his turn, and she was folded into his arms instead.

She calmed down and the tears had stopped by the time she got to Cam, and after a brief hug, he pulled back and gave her a big kiss on the forehead, gently patted her baby bump. "Look at _you_." He said, awestruck.

"Has someone called Jack?" Daniel asked, looking in Landry's direction.

"Walter called him the second she stepped through the gate." Landry said. "He's on his way, although he needs to drop off Beth with Vala first."

"How's Serena?" Sam asked, looking at Daniel, who beamed. The Daedalus had brought Sam news that Serena had been born six weeks ago.

"She's perfect, and Jackson is insufferably proud." Cameron answered before Daniel had a chance.

"I can't wait to meet her." Sam said.

"All in good time." Landry cut in. "But first, we should try and get through as much of this de-briefing as we can before Jack turns up and I lose your attention entirely."

Sam smiled ruefully. "Yes sir."

She sat down at the briefing room table, her guys settled around her, and she explained the events of the last few weeks.

* * *

Surprisingly, they actually managed to finish the debriefing – albeit in a rather more abbreviated fashion than usual – and SG-1 had escorted Sam down to the infirmary for a check-up, before Jack arrived.

He certainly made an entrance. He burst through the door dramatically, calling 'Carter!' before he'd spotted her.

She hopped off the gurney at the end of the room, catching his eye.

He froze for a half second, looking down at her belly, and then Daniel had to take a hurried couple of steps backwards to get out of his way as Jack barrelled towards her.

She threw her arms around his neck and his arms encircled her torso, and then she was crying again, almost hysterically, her face buried in his neck.

An unquantifiable amount of time later, she became aware that Jack was making shushing noises and stroking her back soothingly, and she made an effort to pull her breathing back under control, calming down.

"I missed you so much." She said, her voice catching.

"You're home now." He said. "I've got you."

She gave another little sob, and he planted a kiss at her temple. He rearranged her in his arms so he could rest a hand over the baby.

"How's the little one?" He asked.

"He's fine." Sam said. "How's Beth?"

"She's excited to see her mom."

"Really?" She asked disbelievingly. She highly doubted Beth even remembered who she was. The little girl was now 14 and a half months, and hadn't spent a significant amount of time with Sam since she was six months old.

"I've been showing her your photograph and telling her that you're 'mommy' with every chance I get." Jack said. "And even if she's too little to understand, it won't take her long to bond with you again now you're back."

"She's walking and talking?" Sam asked.

Jack cocked his head with a squint. "Well, she's saying 'Dada' and 'No' and filling in the rest with incomprehensible babbling. And she's not so much 'walking', as throwing herself forward at an almost-run and then falling over."

Sam gave a watery laugh. "I want to see her."

"Can I bust you outta here yet?"

Sam looked around, and realised SG-1 had vanished along with Dr Lam. "I should probably go check with Dr Lam."

"I'll come with." He said, and followed her to the doctor's office with his hand at her back.

"Doctor?" Sam said as she reached Carolyn Lam's office door.

Dr Lam smiled at her, and Sam abruptly became self-conscious of her tear-streaked face, and scrubbed away the evidence with her hands.

"You can go." She allowed with an indulgent smile. "But I'd like you back here tomorrow morning so we can do a full physical, once I've had a chance to go over Dr Keller's notes."

"She'll be here." Jack said from behind her.

"Then by all means, go home."

"Thank you." Sam smiled, and headed up to the locker room with Jack.

As she hadn't been expected, there weren't any clothes waiting for her – not that she owned any clothes on Earth that would fit her at the moment anyway – and so she ended up just removing her Atlantis uniform jacket and exchanging it for Cam's leather one, which he draped over her shoulders as she left the locker room, pulling her suitcase behind her. SG-1 were still on shift, so they said goodbye at the elevator, promising to come round for dinner that evening. Jack carried Sam's suitcase to the truck and hauled it up into the back, and Sam buckled herself into the passenger sheet, huffing in amused exasperation when she had to let out the seatbelt a bit more to strap herself in.

Jack regaled her with tales of Beth's antics as he drove, and Sam just listened happily.

She frowned in confusion when Jack pulled up outside a house she'd never seen before.

"It's Daniel and Vala's." He explained at her perplexed look. "They bought it a couple of months before Serena was born."

Well that made sense. They would have struggled to manage in Daniel's little house just as Sam and Jack had at Sam's old place.

Vala had obviously been watching for them, and opened the door as they walked up the path, with a tiny person laid delicately on her chest and shoulder and secured with one arm.

"Hi!" Sam breathed, looking at her friend and the baby girl that she had known in 2034 as a vivacious twenty-something beauty.

Vala grinned at her. "Hi yourself. We'll catch up later – the little darling that you want to see most is playing in the living room."

Sam beamed at her and gave her arm a squeeze in thanks on her way past her into the house, and then hung back to let Jack take the lead when she realised she had no idea where the living room was.

She followed Jack into the room, and then stopped short to stare at the little girl on the living room floor. She had see videos from a month ago, and she knew how old Beth was, but it still couldn't prepare Sam for the reality of actually seeing Beth with her own eyes. She had grown so much. She had proper golden curls, her facial features had become more distinct – more individual to _her_ – and she babbled happily when she looked up and saw her dad.

Jack scooped Beth up off the floor, and Beth snuggled her head against Jack's chest with a muffled 'Dada'."

Sam approached, tucking herself into Jack's side, and felt like she was meeting Beth for the first time in the social services office all over again.

"Beth, this is Mommy." Jack told her. "You remember the pictures of Mommy, don't you?"

Beth grinned as she looked at Sam and half hid her face in Jack's chest shyly.

Sam reached out and touched Beth's back softly. "Hey baby." She breathed. "I missed you so much."

"Are you gonna say hello to Mommy?" Jack asked, and lifted Beth into Sam's arms carefully.

Sam felt a moment of terror that her daughter would start crying at the move, but it didn't happen. Instead Beth babbled amicably and wound the little fingers of one hand around Sam's braided hair, which had fallen forward over her shoulder, and tugged experimentally, looking up at Sam with a wide smile as if to share the joke.

"Don't pull Mommy's hair, Beth." Jack scolded gently, but Sam shook her head.

"She can pull my hair as much she likes, if I get to hold her while she does it." Sam said, and kissed Beth's little forehead.

There was a wail from behind them, as Serena woke up with a complaint.

"Sorry." Vala said from the doorway. "Didn't mean to spoil the moment."

"It's fine." Sam chuckled, looking at Beth who had narrowed her eyes seriously at the noise from Serena. The wailing grew quieter as Vala disappeared into another room to tend to the baby.

Beth suddenly kicked, and her foot collided with Sam's distended belly, making Sam exclaim with a soft, surprised 'Oof'."

"Ok kiddo, you and I need to have a discussion about not kicking Mommy's tummy." Jack said, seizing Beth under the arms and taking her back. "You ok?" He asked Sam.

She rolled her eyes. "I'm fine, Jack, she's hardly a soccer player."

Jack's cellphone suddenly started playing an inane, girly pop song, and Sam gave Jack a weird look. "What on Earth …?"

Jack rolled his eyes. "It's Cassie. She thinks it's funny to steal my phone and program it to play embarrassing songs when she calls."

He put the phone to his ear, shifting Beth to his hip. "Hey Cass."

Sam played peekaboo with Beth while Jack talked, and Beth cackled in delight.

"She's coming over." Jack said when the call ended. "We should probably ask Vala if she'd rather we relocated to our place for when everyone descends or if she wants the gathering here so she's got her stuff to hand for the baby."

"I'll go talk to her." Sam said, and leaned forward to kiss Beth on the forehead again before she went.

* * *

"She's beautiful." Sam said, perching beside Vala on the little couch in the nursery, looking at the baby in her friend's arms.

"She can scream loud enough to wake the dead." Vala commented wryly. "Daniel likes to joke that he should record it to use as an offensive weapon off-world. Although personally I think the contents of her nappies would be more effective in that regard."

Sam laughed. "And how are you doing? Did the birth go ok?"

"It was fine." Vala answered. "It happened rather more quickly than we had expected, so I almost ended up giving birth in the hospital parking lot, but apart from that, everything went according to plan."

"I'm sorry I missed it." Sam said sadly, touching her head to Vala's shoulder.

"Well, you're home now. That's all that matters." Vala said soothingly. "What about you, is everything alright with your little tenant?" She said, with a pointed look at Sam's belly.

"I've had some blood pressure issues, but nothing serious." Sam said. "He's fine."

"He?" Vala repeated. "It's a boy?"

"Yup." Sam grinned. "We're going to call him Jake. Short for Jacob, after my father."

Vala smiled, and then cocked her head in curiosity. "Was Beth named after anyone? I mean, I know you didn't technically name her, but as it was your clone who did …?"

Sam shook her head. "I don't know. In retrospect I like to consider it to be in honour of Elizabeth Weir, but the truth is Cara Fields didn't know Dr Weir, and Beth was born before we lost Elizabeth. Do you think it's allowed for me to retrospectively consider Dr Weir to be Beth's namesake?"

Vala chuckled. "I don't see why not. She's your baby."

Sam smiled. "I can't begin to describe how happy I am to be back here with her for good."

"I can imagine."

Sam watched Serena, squirming a little in her mother's arms with her eyes determinedly scrunched closed, and then remembered what she had come in here for in the first place.

"The guys and Cassie want to come over for dinner." Sam said. "Jack wanted to know if you'd be more comfortable with that being here so you've got all your stuff on hand for Serena, or if you'd like us to move over to our house."

Vala bit her lip, thinking. "Let's go to yours." She said. "Your place is bigger, and if we're here I'll feel like I have to play hostess."

"Ok." Sam said. It was time to go home.

* * *

Late that night, when the house was empty again, and quiet, Sam lay in bed with Jack and told him about her last five months in Atlantis. She told him about the friends she'd made, the adventures she'd had … and the people she'd lost. She told him about the things she'd learned about herself.

She'd missed Beth terribly of course. But she'd learned that she couldn't give up her career for the sake of motherhood. She was born to this life.

"Hey." Jack said, after Sam fell quiet. "You realise we're almost at the finish line?"

She cocked her head at him curiously.

He gave her that lazy smirk that she loved. "All these years, we've been driving ourselves nuts worrying that we'll screw up the timeline and Beth and Jake and Serena won't get born. Well, we've got Beth, and Daniel and Vala have Serena. And in a few months we'll have Jake. After that … the pressure's off. All we have to do then is get you to three star General rank."

He looked at her proudly, and tucked her long blonde hair behind her ear. "Somehow, I think you won't have any trouble with that at all."

* * *

 _Author's note: Right – bear with me – this is the last episode tag. BUT … I am working on an alternate version of Continuum as a new story in the 'Our Legacy' series. It will be called 'Our Legacy 3 – Continuum'. I was just going to put up an enormous Continuum tag as the last chapter to this story, but the thing is, at this point I've changed the timeline so much that the original version of Continuum really doesn't track, in terms of the character stuff. I mean, Vala has a newborn and Sam's five months pregnant. See what I mean? So, instead of trying to do a Continuum 'episode tag', I've decided to just write an alternate version of it. After that, 'Our Legacy 4' will continue the story in some form. There'll be a bit of a delay now because Continuum is taking longer to get my head around than anticipated, and I am mere weeks away from purchasing my first home - eek.  
_

 _On a personal note, thank you so much to everyone who has followed on with this story, and a big, whopping, ginormous thank you for all the reviews. While I write this stuff primarily because it's my favourite hobby, it really gives me a warm and glow-y feeling to know that other people are enjoying the fruits of my labours.  
_


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